- Knight's Joint Venture with Nikko Securities Starts Market-Making Operations Ahead of Schedule -

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Knight Trading Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NITE) today announced that its Japanese joint venture with Nikko Securities, called Knight Securities Japan, began trading Jasdaq equity securities on Monday, December 4. Knight, when it formalized its joint venture with Nikko last July, said that it expected to begin making markets in Jasdaq equities by the first quarter of 2001.

"Knight's ultimate objective is to become the preferred liquidity provider for orders placed by all investors in securities listed on Jasdaq and additional Japanese markets," said Anthony M. Sanfilippo, Executive Vice President of Knight Trading Group and Director of Knight Securities Japan. "By January 15, 2001, we plan to make markets in 50 Jasdaq stocks eligible for trading by market makers. We expect to be able to execute orders in more than 200 of these listings in the second quarter of 2001. Trading Jasdaq securities is the first in a series of steps for Knight in Japan."

NOTE TO EDITORS:

About Jasdaq Market Structure

Companies that issue shares of common stock on the Jasdaq market determine the type of market structure in which their stocks are traded. Specifically, they can choose from the following two types of trading environments:

• Order-driven structure in which buy and sell limit orders are matched anonymously by electronic communication networks (ECNs), provided that here is sufficient liquidity on the counter side of those orders. As of December 7, 2000, 664 out of 889 Jasdaq stocks trade this way. This structure is akin to the central limit order book (or CLOB) that has been proposed by some large institutions for the U.S. markets.

• Quote-driven structure in which market makers compete for order flow by taking risks and committing capital to fill market and limit orders. This market structure provides for a continuity of liquidity that facilitates trading even in thinly traded (i.e., illiquid) stocks. As of December 7, 2000, 225 out of 889 Jasdaq stocks trade this way. This environment is akin to the current Nasdaq dealer market.

About Knight Trading Group

Knight is the liquidity center that offers superior execution services to its broker-dealer and institutional clients in over-the-counter (OTC) and listed equity securities, and in options. In so doing, Knight helps its clients meet their fiduciary obligation of obtaining best execution for the securities orders that they place on behalf of their customers. Knight also maintains an asset management business for institutional investors and high net worth individuals through Deephaven Capital Management.

Knight has the power to commit capital for market orders, and also maintains one of the largest limit order books in the OTC market. It is one of the largest destinations for stock orders placed via the Internet. Knight traded 87 billion shares in the first nine months of 2000, a volume behind only those posted by Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It is a charter member of Fortune magazine's "e-50 Stock Index," an elite collection of companies shaping the Internet-based economy. Knight also is ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the 500 most profitable public companies in the U.S. Ultimately, Knight plans to enable the global trading village to trade all types of equity securities and options at anytime, from anywhere in the world. More information about Knight can be obtained at http://www.knighttradinggroup.com.

The matters described within this Knight Trading Group (the "Company") press release may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results, performance or other expectations and from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods. These factors include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to implement its growth strategies, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, intellectual property rights, and other factors detailed in the Company's registration statement and periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SOURCE Knight Trading Group, Inc.

CONTACT: Margaret Wyrwas, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, 201-557-6954, or mwyrwas@knight-sec.com, or Chuck Dohrenwend, Manager, Corporate Communications, 201-356-1753, or chuck_dohrenwend@knight-sec.com, both of Knight Trading Group/