JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Knight Trading Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NITE) today announced that it will post lower than expected earnings due to a difficult market environment during the first quarter. Knight will post a Q&A by 10:30 a.m. EDT to its Web site (http://www.knighttradinggroup.com) that discusses the first quarter.

Knight will release its official first quarter results on Wednesday, April 18, 2001 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The Company will conduct its first quarter earnings conference call for analysts, investors and the media at 9:00 a.m. (ET) that same day.

During Knight's fourth quarter earnings conference call with analysts, investors and the media on January 17, 2001, the Company gave first quarter guidance that if the Nasdaq Composite Index remained at about 2,600 with an upward bias during the first quarter, Knight would target projected revenues of $260 - $320 million, with a projected earnings per share range of $0.32 to $0.40 cents. This projected EPS figure would be inclusive of quarterly international expansion costs of approximately $0.08 - $0.10 cents.

Overall market conditions during the first quarter fell significantly short of the benchmarks used in Knight's first quarter projections, with the Nasdaq Composite Index closing the quarter down 25.5% to 1,840, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closing down 8.4% to 9,879. Knight now expects to announce first quarter earnings per share in the range of $0.18 to $0.20, including the impact of approximately $0.08 per share related to expenditures for its international expansion.

"The market environment over the first quarter was the most difficult that Knight has encountered since our founding in 1995. Both the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell to their lowest levels in over two years," said Kenneth D. Pasternak, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Knight Trading Group. "Investors who had fled to the relative safety of large cap stocks during the fourth quarter found little refuge in any equity securities during this first quarter. Trading patterns over the first quarter indicate that an increasing percentage of our order flow is from professional traders -- evidence that the self-directed investor has continued to ride out this bear market on the sidelines."

"Knight's flexible expense structure, in conjunction with our increasingly diverse product and client base and benefits of scale, have all contributed to Knight's ability to perform and profit during these intensely adverse market conditions," continued Mr. Pasternak. "Our Company will continue to evolve to further capture the benefits of diversification and globalization. We will continue our efforts to capitalize on the markets of the future by establishing our global footprint on an independent basis."

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 equity derivatives. By utilizing Knight's execution solutions, broker-dealers and institutions can 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 112 billion shares in 2000, a volume behind only those posted by the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Knight 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. SOURCE Knight Trading Group, Inc.

CONTACT: Margaret Wyrwas, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, 201-557-6954, mwyrwas@knight-sec.com, or Judy Pirro, Manager, Investor and Shareholder Relations, 201-356-1548, judy_pirro@knight-sec.com, both of Knight Trading Group, Inc./