Business Notes

The peal of the 4 p.m. closing bell is one of the enduring symbols of Manhattan's New York Stock Exchange. Increasingly, it is also one of its most antiquated. Modern moneymaking is a 24-hour-a-day enterprise. Overseas exchanges, active when it is nighttime in New York City, are eating into the Big Board's business. More than 70 U.S. companies are traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and close to 200 list their securities in London.

In a long anticipated response, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden last week announced the first step toward what may well become round-the-clock trading at the N.Y.S.E. -- an experimental two-year extension of trading hours beyond the 4 o'clock close. Starting June 13, individual investors will be able to buy and sell stocks up to 5 p.m. at 4 p.m. prices, while holders of multiple-stock portfolios -- typically institutions -- will wheel and deal until 5:15. "The proposal before us may seem incremental," said Breeden, "but its effect will be felt around the world as a sign that U.S. markets are changing their habits to meet the needs of an increasingly globalized marketplace."