U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said he favors deferring the re-opening of the stock exchanges on New York City’s Wall Street until damaged electricity and telephone grids have been repaired.

“No one understands the importance of the stock market more than American businesses, but re-opening it right is more important than re-opening it fast,” he said. “Until rescue teams give the go-ahead and telephone and electric system reliability is restored, any opening bell would be premature. It is important that we do whatever is necessary to ensure a smooth re-start to the U.S. stock markets, and not make decisions based on the clock or the calendar.”

If the markets were to re-open before the stability of the electricity and telephone systems could be assured, a Chamber spokesman said it is concerned that “any small glitch” that may occur would be interpreted by investors as a “weakness” in the markets. “We’re not confident that re-opening the market now is a wise decision.” He noted that top Chamber officials have been in “daily discussions” with the White House, Capitol Hill and other government leaders about when to re-start the markets.

The latest information from New York City indicates that a “significant portion” of lower Manhattan’s communications grid remains down and that electric service to the area has not been completely restored, according to the Chamber of Commerce. Both systems are integral parts of the stock exchanges and must be fully functional before the markets are re-opened, it said.

The telephone and electricity infrastructures were damaged early Tuesday when terrorists plowed airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, causing untold destruction and loss of life. The New York Stock Exchange, the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) and other exchanges have been closed since then. Nymex, however, is expected to offer trading of its major futures contracts on a limited basis today via the Internet-based version of Nymex Access.

The Chamber of Commerce represents more than three million businesses and trade associations.

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