WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday adopted a rule designed to bolster the agency's surveillance of the equities markets by establishing a central database that stores information on every trade order, execution and cancellation.

The rule will bring the SEC one step closer to finally having a consolidated audit trail to help it better police for market manipulation and insider trading, though the new database will not be operational in the near-term.

The SEC voted 3-2, with commissioners Luis Aguilar and Elisse Walter dissenting amid concerns that the rule gives too much flexibility to exchanges and is overly weak.

(Reporting By Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)