Cognizant rings NASDAQ bell from Chennai

City-based IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation rang the NASDAQ opening bell remotely from here tonight to open the market in the United States, establishing itself as a global player.

The company's CEO Francisco d'Souza rang the bell at 8 pm from the Chennai India Techno Complex.

Cognizant, listed on NASDAQ since June 1998, was added to the S & P 500 index in November 2006, to become the first global offshore IT major to achieve this distinction.

"In many ways, the fact that we are opening the market from Chennai is representative of the globalisation and virtualisation that we are witnessing all around us. It would have been unthinkable a few years ago to open America's largest electronic stock market remotely and unimaginable to do so from about 10,000 miles away in India," D'Souza said.

Cognizant employees were in a celebration mood as a colourful display of fireworks lit up the sky. "Over the course of our association with NASDAQ, we have emerged as one of the fastest growing firms in our sector and gained recognition among the world's leading companies throughout membership in the NASDAQ 100 index and the S&P 500 Index," D'Souza added.

Charlotte Crosswell, President of NASDAQ International termed Cognizant as a company of innovation and technological leadership. "NASDAQ is proud to count you among our family of listed companies. NASDAQ remains dedicated to India and we look forward to strengthen our long established ties with the region," he said.