"In a little more than a year's time, we will have a stockmarket here that will be an important set-piece for all of Asia - a market that is interconnected by way of the Internet not only to the rest of Asia, but to all of the Americas and all of Europe," he said. The launch of Nasdaq Japan puts co-founder NASD - parent of the U.S. Nasdaq - one step ahead of the New York Stock Exchange in the race to create a 24-hour global market.

The new market, launched jointly by NASD and major Japanese Internet investor Softbank Corp as a new section of the Osaka Securities Exchange, is expected to see some 70 issuestraded on the market by the end of the year.

"We are starting very small, and we are starting very carefully and for the rest of the next year, we will be building very carefully," Zarb said. But the market clearly has ambitions.

"The result is that companies all over the world will be able to raise capital outside their home country, that investors will be able to invest in companies outside their home country," he said. "This is the first time such a step has been taken."

The highly publicised launch, however, was marked by a moderate share price performance with some investors inclined to watch and wait to see if the market functions without glitches.

Officials said there were no problems. "I'm glad we managed to get the market started smoothly," said Softbank Chief Masayoshi Son. "It's like having a new baby."

Trading was also subdued because of a lack of big high-tech names in the first group of companies, and investor caution ahead of Japanese elections next Sunday and the US Federal Reserve'srate-setting Federal Open Market Committee on June 27-28.

Reuters