BROKERS SAY NYSE RULE SHIFT LIMITS FLEXIBILITY
Officials of major brokerage firms
expressed dismay at a New York Stock Exchange decision to force
strict compliance with a rule barring members from trading in
NYSE-listed issues in London during New York trading hours.
    Most major brokerage houses said they had seen no formal
notice from the NYSE on the interpretation of rule 390.
Officials of the NYSE were unavailable to explain the timing or
the technical details of enforcement of rule 390.
    "It's a step backward," said Samuel Hunter, senior vice
president for equity trading at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc.,
    Hunter said any perceived problems caused by overlapping
trading ought to be addressed by a search for equitable
solutions instead of "hiding behind legalistic and technical
definitions."
    The NYSE evidently feels some traders use London to
circumvent rules preventing short sales on minus ticks, Hunter
said. But he believes simultaneous printing of trades in London
and New York would be a way to have dual trading with an
element of fairness. "I'm a great advocate of the view that the
greater the volume, the better the market will be," he said.
 Reuter
