UPDATE 1-NYSE says resumes connectivity after tech glitch

(Recasts first paragraph, adds traders' quote, details)

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange said on Friday it had restored connectivity that halted trades in about 240 companies, including Dow components General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Merck (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Ray Pellecchia, spokesman for NYSE Euronext (NYX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the world's top exchange operator, said the exchange was not planning on canceling trades in the affected stocks.

"Everything has reopened for trading," said Pellecchia, adding connectivity was restored around 12:10 p.m.(1610 GMT).

Ted Weisberg, a floor trader with Seaport Securities in New York, said he had received an alert from the NYSE about the server glitch around 11:30 a.m. (1530 GMT).

He said traders could divert trades to other platforms.

"We all have the ability to trade everywhere, so my guess is you just redirect your order call away from the exchange floor until they get it fixed," said Weisberg.

"Today we have other avenues to redirect our business to, so it's kind of a non-event, it's more of an electronic embarrassment."

Shares of NYSE Euronext were down 1.8 percent at $29.49. (Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu and Leah Schnurr; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)