Nasdaq OMX says the new platform, which will offer share trading in the constituents of all leading European indices, will be the first to connect major European trading centres through a sophisticated routing system.

The initiative is the first following the merger of US-based Nasdaq and Nordic and Baltic market operator OMX.

The new platform will trade around 300 of the most active European blue chip stocks at launch, which is expected in September, subject to approval from the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Based on the Inet ECN, the market will handle displayed and non-displayed orders in one composite order book. Clearing will be handled through a pan-European clearing facility and settlement will be done locally.

Commenting on the move, Magnus Bocker, President of Nasdaq OMX, says: "We will deliver the world-leading execution that professional traders seek such as direct access to our core matching engine, a specific product offering designed for advanced traders, market data services for co-location customers and a post-trade fee model that is geared for high-frequency trading."

Nasdaq OMX CEO Bob Greifeld adds: "We are positioning ourselves to serve our customers in the wake of a regulatory change that will break down monopolistic barriers that have survived in Europe but that will not hold in a post-MiFID environment."

Nasdaq OMX is the latest in a number of competitors that have launched new services following the implementation of the European Union's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) to compete with the region's exchanges.

The Nasdaq OMX system will compete with services operated by Instinet Chi-X, Nyfix, Turquoise and Equiduct Trading, among others.