J.P. Morgan Acquires Stake in Arizona Stock Exchange; Takes Part in Preopening Call Auction Test Program Will Demonstrate System to Facilitate Nasdaq Openings.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 27, 2000

J P Morgan & Co. Incorporated (NYSE symbol: JPM) announced today that it is acquiring a minority interest in the Arizona Stock Exchange (AZX), an electronic call market for stocks, and that it has joined a program to demonstrate AZXs preopening call auction system. J.P. Morgans investment and participation reinforce the firms longstanding committment to leading-edge markets technology and best execution for clients.

The voluntary call auction program, designed to efficiently achieve price discovery for Nasdaq stocks, is currently being conducted with 16 Nasdaq stocks. As part of the AZX call auction, firms will enter bids and offers for these stocks between 9:00 a.m. and 9:29 a.m. EDT, just before the Nasdaqs daily 9:30 a.m. daily opening. At 9:29 a.m., a clearing price will be determined that optimally executes the most volume from both the bid and offer sides of the market. For further details on AZX, and to view the auctions, please see the exchanges website, www.AZX.com.

Bob Gasser, Head of J.P. Morgans U.S. equity trading business, commented: "AZXs preopening call auction will enable us to level the playing field for investors by offering a more transparent process for discovering opening price. Achieving price discovery with the broadest market constituency possible is an essential element to providing clients with best execution.. In highly volatile markets, it is our belief that this mechanism has the potential to reduce the market impact of both institutional and retail order flow by virtue of its full disclosure of the depth of the bid and offer side of the market for any given security."

Founded in 1992, the Arizona Stock Exchange is an electronic, Internet-based system for conducting single price call auctions in equity securities. AZXs auctions are distinguished by trading at only designated times, as opposed to the continuous trading of most other markets, and are designed to balance supply and demand at those times in a fair and open process. Many have suggested that such a process is ideally suited to opening and closing markets, and for stabilizing volatile markets.

J.P. Morgan is a leading global financial firm that meets critical financial needs for business enterprises, governments, and individuals. The company advises on corporate strategy and structure, raises capital, makes markets in financial instruments, and manages investment assets. Morgan also commits its own capital to promising enterprises and invests and trades to capture market opportunities. More information about the firm can be found at www.jpmorgan.com.

www.jpmorgan.com