NYSE Euronext, BNP Paribas and HSBC unveiled plans for a new alternative share trading system (Project SmartPool) due to go live by mid-2008, rivaling a delayed "Project Turquoise" backed by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Switzerland's UBS and Credit Suisse, and Germany's Deutsche Bank.

Some industry watchers said the NYSE Euronext-led project has a better chance than Turquoise as it can build on the existing infrastructure that takes a long time to create.

"For Turquoise, everything has to be built -- the technology, the governance, the network, the client," said a banker who follows the sector.

Unlike a traditional exchange, Project SmartPool will allow users to trade without disclosing their identity or the size or price, facilitating the dark liquidity pools.

This shot the shares up almost 2% as the Dow dropped over 1% on housing woes.