GLOBE NEWSWIRE – SINGAPORE – MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, and the provider of market data and post-trade services for the global fixed-income markets, announces the expansion of support for its all-to-all trading marketplace, Open Trading™, during Asia local hours.
Open Trading allows all market participants, including buy- and sell-side firms, on the MarketAxess trading platform to connect anonymously in a central marketplace. Firms engage with the market via a suite of all-to-all trading solutions and can leverage integrated market data, allowing traders to approach the global fixed income market with confidence. Open Trading is an extension of MarketAxess’ leading disclosed Request for Quote (RFQ) trading protocols.
MarketAxess’ Open Trading marketplace has seen significant growth since launching in 2012, consisting of $639 million in average daily trade volume in the second quarter of 2016, up 86% year-over-year. In the second quarter of 2016, the number of unique liquidity providers (i.e., price markers) was 619 unique firms, up from 375 in the same period the year prior.
The expansion of Open Trading allows for local support during Asian trading hours, giving local Asian investors and dealers greater flexibility in their electronic trading strategy. By expanding support for Open Trading and the global network of participants, the liquidity available on MarketAxess will continue to grow, ultimately improving the likelihood of quality execution. Trade volume conducted on MarketAxess from Asian investors grew 189% from the second quarter of 2015 to the second quarter of 2016, demonstrating the increased demand for efficient electronic trading solutions.
Philipp Sterner, Head of Asia Sales, MarketAxess, comments, “The demand for sophisticated electronic trading tools, such as the all-to-all Open Trading platform, has continued to grow in Asia. As a leader in providing unique trading technology and intelligent market data, MarketAxess is well positioned to support the needs of all institutional market participants across global credit markets.”
Richard Schiffman, Head of Open Trading Product Management, MarketAxess, added, “MarketAxess is continuing to invest in technology and local resource in Asia, demonstrated by the extension of Open Trading support in the region. Open Trading offers both investors and dealers the greatest flexibility possible in an electronic trading marketplace, ultimately providing significant liquidity provision and meaningful cost savings.”
About MarketAxess
MarketAxess operates a leading electronic trading platform that enables fixed-income market participants to efficiently trade corporate bonds and other types of fixed-income instruments using MarketAxess’ patented trading technology. Over 1,000 institutional investor and broker-dealer firms are active users of the MarketAxess trading platform, accessing global liquidity in U.S. high-grade corporate bonds, emerging markets and high-yield bonds, European bonds, U.S. agency bonds, credit default swaps and other fixed-income securities. MarketAxess SEF Corporation has received temporary registration from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate a swap execution facility. MarketAxess also offers a number of trading-related products and services, including: market data to assist clients with trading decisions; connectivity solutions that facilitate straight-through processing; technology services to optimize trading environments; and execution services for exchange-traded fund managers and other clients. Through its Trax® division, MarketAxess also offers a range of pre- and post-trade services, including trade matching, regulatory transaction reporting and market and reference data, across a range of fixed-income products. Trax is the trading name of Xtrakter Ltd., a MarketAxess group company.
MarketAxess maintains its headquarters in New York and has offices in London, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, São Paulo and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.marketaxess.com.