U.S. Stock Markets to Open Monday

U.S. stock markets will open for trading as usual Monday, after Hurricane Irene did little physical damage to trading systems.

The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and BATS Trading held a conference call with the Securities and Exchange Commission Sunday afternoon, and all confirmed they were ready for trading.

The was fear that flooding or power outages in lower Manhattan might derail trading at the New York Stock Exchange. But the area did not suffer significant flooding, and data centers werent affected by the storm, which battered much of the East Coast over the weekend.

While trading will open, it is unclear whether traders can easily get to work. Mass transit in Manhattan is not expected to be fully operational Monday morning. However, many Wall Street firms were making contingency plans to get employees to work.