Taking cover from what the news media is describing as the “Frankenstorm,” which is what is expected to result when Hurricane Sandy veers onshore into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and collides with a cold front from the West, trading exchanges announced their modified operating plans on Sunday.

Sandy is expected to bring winds in excess of 60 mph and dump more than a foot of rain in some regions, causing significant flooding concerns from the Delmarva Peninsula through the Northeast.

Even though the brunt of Sandy’s force was still hours away, Con Edison reported Monday morning that a little more than 3,600 customers were already without power, mainly in Brooklyn. The utility also warned that it may have to shut down underground electrical equipment in New York City if the storm surge floods low-lying areas.

Late Sunday, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq both said they would be closed Monday and possibly Tuesday, depending on the severity of Sandy’s impact.

CME Group, home of the New York Mercantile Exchange, said Sunday that New York City mandatory evacuation is required in Zone A, which includes CME Group’s Nymex World Headquarters and New York trading floor. As a result, the New York trading floor would be closed on Monday, but all electronic markets would open at their regularly scheduled times on CME Globex and CME ClearPort. CME said it would continue to update cmegroup.com as additional information becomes available.

Global electronic trading exchange IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) issued a notice Sunday that all exchange markets are expected to operate under normal trading hours and daily settlement times for trade date Monday. The ICE exchange building at One North End Avenue in lower Manhattan will be closed on Monday, with no building access available for any purpose on this day.

ICE said any change to this plan will be communicated via an exchange notice, via the website’s Market Status feature, and via the emergency phone line, (877) 877-8890.

Following the announcement that the NYSE and Nasdaq would be closed Monday, trading in the ICE Futures Russell equity index futures and options also is closing early, at 9:15 a.m. EDT on Monday and is to remain closed for the day. Russell settlement prices from Friday would be carried over and used for Monday settlement prices. Additionally, given that U.S. fixed income markets are planning to close at noon ET on Monday, ICE Clear Credit is scheduled to at the same time. CE Clear Europe would remain open for CDS clearing.

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