This combined file picture shows a Euronext logo on the top and the logo of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the bottom. (Xinhua/AFP)

    NEW YORK, June 1 (Xinhua) -- NYSE Group Inc. agreed Thursday to acquire the pan-European stock market Euronext for about 10 billion US dollars in cash and stock, creating the first trans-Atlantic securities market.

    Once combined, the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext will handle about 2.1 trillion dollars in stock trades each month and have a market value of 20 billion dollars.

    The acquisition ushers in a new era for financial markets, one in which investors can trade stocks, options, futures, commodities and corporate bonds on two continents up to 12 hours a day.

    The New York Stock Exchange trumped a competing bid by Deutsche Boerse AG to acquire Paris-based Euronext, which operates bourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon. Enditem