Derivs - Equity

Financial credits and stocks were focal points for derivatives traders this week, with a big rally in banks aided by perceptions of a more hawkish stance on interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. But although volatility has largely abated from credit and equity markets with the passing of the Fed meeting, traders warned that Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena and the credit index options expiry next week could still bring upsets before the end of the year.

Eurex has decided to introduce a number of changes in 2017 to MSCI indices and related futures, after consulting with users for the exchange’s November review.

Nasdaq Clearing and Nasdaq Stockholm have both received fines after an investigation in Sweden found risk management and cyber security flaws.

Bats Europe is to add several benchmark indices spanning French, German, Italian and Swiss markets and expects these to support derivatives products in the future.

Volume figures released by major derivative exchanges for November show a marked rise over October's numbers, with some exchanges reporting record volume days in the aftermath of the US election.

Intercontinental Exchange has appointed a chairman for its Singapore trading and clearing operations.

Eurex, the derivatives exchange of Deutsche Börse, has launched a daily future linked to the Kospi-200 index, which will be fully fungible with contracts traded on the Korea Exchange (KRX).

The European Commission has proposed rules aimed at minimising the systemic risk of recovering and resolving central counterparties that fail, including granting authorities powers to intervene, having projected that 70% of the $500tr over-the-counter derivatives market will move to being cleared.

Derivatives experts are rushing out a new toolkit of products to help market participants navigate a coming sea change in financial markets following last week’s US presidential election upset. Dan Alderson reports.

Nifty 50 futures trading on the Taiwan Futures Exchange will be able to be sold in the US, following a ruling by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The Nasdaq Dubai Futures Exchange has signed up National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) as a second market maker for its equity futures, after trading gained momentum in recent weeks.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has requested more than $38m in monetary sanctions against UK based trader Navinder Singh Sarao over S&P futures 'spoofing' allegations.