Exchanges and their electronic systems stood up to the 5.8 earthquake that hit Virginia on Tuesday but are now set to face another test at the hands Irene, expected to hit New York over the weekend.

The New York Stock Exchange - which operates a data centre in New Jersey - says it intends to open for trading on Monday and has contingencies in place for events of this nature.

Nasdaq OMX is also planning for business as normal although a spokesman told the WSJ that it will "continually inspect our systems and data centres throughout the weekend and provide regulator updates to our customers as needed".

Direct Edge technicians will inspect its data centre facility - operated by Equinix - in Secaucus, New Jersey for any possible damage throughout Sunday but intends to open on Monday.