Nasdaq recorded its busiest-ever Closing Cross on Friday as the annual reconstitution of the Russell US Indexes drove a record 4.59 billion shares worth $334.03 billion through the auction.
The exchange said the trades were executed in 1.63 seconds across Nasdaq-listed securities. The figures surpassed the previous record set during the 2025 Russell reconstitution, when 2.51 billion shares valued at $102.46 billion changed hands.
The Closing Cross determines the official closing price for Nasdaq-listed stocks by matching buy and sell orders at a single price. The auction is a key part of index rebalancing events, when passive funds and institutional investors adjust portfolios to reflect changes in benchmark indexes.
Friday marked the 23rd year that Nasdaq’s Closing Cross has been used to calculate the Russell US Indexes reconstitution. The process updates the composition of the Russell 1000, Russell 2000, and Russell 3000 indexes based on changes in market capitalization and other factors.
The newly reconstituted indexes will take effect when U.S. markets open on June 29.
About $10.6 trillion in assets are benchmarked to or invested in products linked to the Russell US Indexes, according to FTSE Russell. The annual reconstitution is one of the largest scheduled trading events in the U.S. equity market and has become increasingly significant as passive investing has continued to grow.
