Stock Trading to Resume in Aftermath of Terrorist AttackMajor stock markets in the United States will resume trading Monday after a long suspension due to the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11.The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ made the announcement Saturday, after successful tests have been conducted. Based on Saturday's evaluation of stock market systems and the "interconnectivitiy of systems of broker dealers", trading will resume on both markets 9:30 Monday morning and close normally at 4: 00 pm, NYSE chairman Richard Grasso said. All NYSE personnel who worked in the WTC have been contacted and are safe during the landmark buildings' collapse, the NYSE stated. The markets have remained closed since Tuesday when the United States suffered the worst terrorist attack in history. Two hijacked passenger planes rammed the 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in Manhattan, downtown New York City, a third crashed into the west side of the Pentagon building in Washington and another plane crashed in western Pennsylvania. All 266 people on board the planes were killed. Thousands were feared dead in WTC which housed many offices of US and foreign companies. Wall Street, where the NYSE is based and which is near WTC, was sealed off. The opening of the markets will mark a phase of the clearing of the wreckage piled on the site of the towers whose collapse and burning created a mountain of rubble, with ashes spreading blocks away and hundreds of nearby buildings damaged. Rescue workers have dug and removed over 13,000 tons of debris. It will take weeks to clear up the area, authorities said. According to the latest police report, the number of missing has risen to 4,972, with 152 bodies recovered, 92 of them identified. Earlier Saturday, electricity supply began to reach the area near the WTC site. Thousands of volunteers, many of whom construction workers, had gathered outside the rescue area. But their offer for help was declined by city officials who thanked their readiness, saying the city needs no more volunteers or supplies at this time. On Friday, police made first arrest in Tuesday's case, detaining a suspect believed to have information relevant to the FBI investigation. New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik called the man "a material witness" in the WTC attack. |
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