Stock Exchange to close for two hours on September 11

By NZPA

Thursday 5th September 2002

The New Zealand Stock Exchange will close for two hours next Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the attacks in the United States on September 11.

NZSE chairman Simon Allen said the exchange, the first in the world to open for business on September 11, will delay trading by two hours to honour the victims, their families and the rescue workers, and to show support for the US.

"The New York Stock Exchange, which is at the heart of the global financial markets, has already announced it will close for the first two hours on September 11 as a mark of respect for those who died in the tragedy," Mr Allen said.

"The global financial community was hit particularly hard on September 11 and suffered huge losses and trauma, from which it has not yet recovered.

"The NZSE has decided to follow the New York Stock Exchange lead as a sign of solidarity and to remember all those affected by the devastating events of last year."

Finance Minister Michael Cullen said in a statement from Mexico, where he is attending the Apec finance ministers' meeting, that it was appropriate for the NZSE to use its status as the first exchange to open to make the gesture.

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