Euronext welcomes strong support for new trading interface

Euronext is reporting a strong response to the launch of its new trading interface, with broking clients TP ICAP and AFS Group already trading and some of the world’s top banks in the process of going live. 

Charlotte Alliot, head of institutional derivatives at Euronext, told Global Investor her team is pleased with the positive response to the recent phased delivery of Euronext Trader, the European exchange group’s new Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Alliot said: “We launched our trading GUI which is called Euronext Trader and we are seeing strong adoption with TP ICAP becoming the first member in early March and shortly followed by AFS. We are hopeful of another big client in the coming days while all the banks want to take it and are starting the compliance process to onboard the tool.”

Euronext is bullish about the new web-based trader interface which the exchange group believes will transform how its clients interact with Euronext’s various markets.

Inter-dealer broker TP ICAP said: “As a world-leading derivatives intermediary, we are pleased to be at the forefront of the Euronext Trader initiative. It provides ease of use and access to the Euronext derivatives franchise, which are key to the development of exchanges and part of efficient market infrastructures."

Dutch broker AFS said: “As an Execution Team specialised in listed derivatives contracts, we at AFS Group welcome the Euronext Trader initiative which will offer an ease of use when trading on Euronext, which is in the best interest of our clients. 

Alliot said the basic version of Euronext Trader is free for up to five traders and the exchange plans to roll out this year various other versions that offer different layers of sophistication.

“The tool is evolving. We launched the first version and that has been met with positive feedback by users but we are planning upgrades over the rest of this year to include additional services.”

The Euronext head of institutional derivatives said Euronext Traders also has a feature to help clients trade its increasingly popular total return future (TRF).

Alliot said: “The GUI includes the TRF pricer where you can convert basis points to index points and vice versa, and this is going to be important because of the success of the TRF which hit new volume records in January and February.”

She sees the GUI as key to enable clients to access its growing portfolio of equity derivatives products.

“The way our offering is developing with the dividend futures, single stock futures, blocks on options and the TRF has created a need for this tool,” Alliot said.

The exchange group hosted in January a conference in Paris where a panel of senior traders discussed the Euronext dividend futures contract.

Euronext passed on January 5 the one million lot milestone for its CAC 40 total return future, an innovative product launched by Euronext in late 2018 to offer a cleared, lower margin equivalent of a total return swap.

The European exchange said in October it was targeting banks and hedge funds with the launch of extended maturities for the total return future based on the French blue-chip index.