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Non-Tech : Knight/Trimark Group, Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James Thompson who wrote (4385)	9/30/1999 12:06:00 AM
From: Herschel Rubin	Respond to of 10027

NITE Headline in the WSJ Interactive: ------------------------------------------------------- September 29, 1999 Dow Jones Newswires KNIGHT/TRIMARK, ONLINE BROKERS MOVE HIGHER WED NEW YORK -- Shares of online brokerage firms had a good day Wednesday, with several stocks rising during the latter part of the session. Among others, ETrade Group Inc. (EGRP) rose 2 3/4, or 12.4%, to 25, and Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD) climbed 1 7/16, or 8.1%, to 19 1/8. Knight/Trimark Group Inc. (NITE), the large market-making firm that often moves in the same direction as the online brokers, rose 2 15/32, or 8.7%, to 31. What exactly pushed the stocks higher wasn't clear, though CNBC reported that there was merger speculation linking Knight/Trimark with brokerage firm Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER). A spokesman for Merrill Lynch declined to comment. Talk of a deal between Knight/Trimark and Merrill - or for that matter between Knight/Trimark and a number of other firms - isn't new and there isn't anything beyond the stock activity to indicate whether there is substance behind Wednesday's reported rumors. In fact, speculation surfaced about a month ago when the two companies signed a deal for Knight/Trimark to clear and settle its Nasdaq securities transactions through a Merrill unit. Knight/Trimark's stock moved higher that day. Back then, Knight/Trimark Chief Executive Kenneth Pasternak expressed surprise at the stock market's reaction and indicated that the pact shouldn't be seen as a sign of a coming merger. He did remark that Knight/Trimark was leaving all its options open, as usual. On Wednesday, Pasternak wasn't immediately available for comment. One online brokerage analyst said that perhaps the stocks rose because stock market trading volumes seem to be moving higher, which, if true, would benefit the online brokers. And he also noted that Internet stocks as a group have been doing better recently. A spokesman for ETrade said the company isn't aware of a reason why the stock moved higher. A spokeswoman for Ameritrade declined to comment. ___________________________________________________________