NYSE to reopen, on backup generators

The New York Stock Exchange will be open Wednesday.

In a bit of welcome news for fund managers, investors and even the economy, the company that operates the iconic exchange at 11 Wall St. announced it would not extend its trading shutdown to a third day.

Wall Street experts had feared that another delay because of superstorm Sandy would have meant a dangerous backup of customer orders to buy and sell stock. It also could have dealt a blow to the image of U.S. markets, already damaged by investor distrust, sudden market swings and a series of trading glitches, including the botched IPO of Facebook.

"The world is used to seeing the financial markets through the lens of the floor of the New York Stock Exchange," said Larry Leibowitz, chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext, which operates the exchange. "It gives them a sense of comfort."

The NYSE said its building and trading floor are fully operational and that normal trading will resume Wednesday at the usual starting time of 9:30 a.m.

Since power is out in much of downtown Manhattan, the company said it will run the exchange using its own backup generators, a first.

The exchange also said that a key data center in New Jersey housing computers used to trade stocks was in good condition after the storm and would be fully up and running Wednesday.