Asset Classes

European investors warm to Eurex KOSPI contract

Eurex, the European derivatives exchange joint-owned by Deutsche Börse and SIX Swiss Exchange, has reported healthy volumes in its Korean KOSPI options contracts, with over 500,000 contracts traded since its launch on 30 August 2010.

Saxo opens HK office to serve institutional, retail flows

Saxo Capital Markets, a trading platform provider and wholly-owned subsidiary of Denmark's Saxo Bank, has opened an office in Hong Kong in response to growing opportunities offered by increasing institutional flows to the region as well as demand for white-label solutions from financial institutions.

Traiana expands CFD equity swaps network to buy-side

Traiana, a post-trade solutions supplier owned by interdealer broker ICAP, has extended its Harmony network's contract-for-difference equity swap service for use by long-only buy-side firms and hedge funds.

BME offers clearing for non-standard equity derivatives

The launch of clearing for flexible equity derivatives contracts on a segment of domestic Spanish exchange Bolsas y Mercados Españoles is expected to increase trading efficiency and reduce costs for market participants.

CFTC proposes DMA rules for derivatives market

US derivatives regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed that trading firms should provide the details of price collars, throttles and a 'kill button' that are built into their derivatives trading systems to limit the risks associated with DMA.

'Artificial' liquidity can work against institutional investors

Liquidity provided by market maker trades on alternative trading venues can be a hindrance to true price discovery and may result in added transaction costs for fundamental investors, says Will Psomadelis, head of trading, Australia at Schroders Investment Management.

European dark pools sustain strong trading volumes in February

European dark multilateral trading facilities sustained their strong start to the year, trading €22.32 billion of equities in February, over double the €11.02 billion traded in the same month last year, according to data provider Thomson Reuters.

Instinet's Nighthawk spreads its wings

Global agency broker Instinet says its Nighthawk aggregation algorithm will be able to access liquidity from 14 dark pools across Asia by the end of the first quarter of 2011.