NYSE, Nasdaq expected open Monday despite Hurricane Irene hitting New York
A security guard near the sand bagged front entrance of the New York Stock Exchange August 27, 2011. Hurricane Irene hit New York City on Sunday morning, but despite the strong winds, torrential rains and threat of flooding, the NYSE and Nasdaq both said they expect to be open for trading as usual on Monday morning.
The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market are expected to open for trading Monday as usual despite the arrival of Hurricane Irene in New York City early Sunday.
A final decision on whether the stock markets will open is expected later Sunday after a conference call between regulators, exchange officials and other Wall Street chiefs, Reuters reports.
The decision will depend on whether the city's subway system is operating, the extent of flooding in Lower Manhattan, which includes Wall Street, and power outages.
From GlobalPost's Macro blog: Hurricane Irene — Thinking the unthinkable
Hurricane Irene pummelled New York and area with strong winds and torrential rain on Sunday. Power was knocked out around the region, and some parts of downtown Manhattan were flooded with about a foot of water.
However, the damage in New York didn't appear to be as severe as originally feared.
Some 370,000 people had been ordered to evacuate the city, and the normally bustling streets of New York were strangely silent, the BBC reports.
At least 11 deaths have been linked the storm as it tears up the eastern coast of the United States.
One senior trader in New York told Reuters that Hurricane Irene had destroyed any chance of a stock market rally that had been looking likely.
"If this hurricane is a disaster, my guess is we are going to be down 30-40 handles on Monday," he told the news agency.
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