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NYSE Euronext today announced that its U.S. options exchanges, NYSE Arca and NYSE Amex options have completed the first phase of a significant technology upgrade program that will double capacity for both exchanges. NYSE Euronext U.S. Options continues to enhance its value proposition to customers by upgrading the core matching engines and functionality for its exchange platforms.
“Technology performance is critical to meeting our stringent regulatory and business performance demands and we’re committed to maintaining a leadership role in every aspect of our exchange operations,” says Amy Farnstrom, co-CEO, NYSE Arca Options. “We’re always monitoring our performance and searching for ways to improve our platforms, services and support. By independently deciding to double our capacity, we believe that we are again providing unique value to our customers and further differentiating NYSE Euronext’s U.S. options exchanges.”
In an ongoing effort to proactively meet expanding industry volumes and quote traffic, the initial phase of the capacity expansion program was completed in the fourth quarter of 2010. The final phases of the program are anticipated to finish in the second quarter of 2011, following the first-quarter 2011 migration of NYSE Euronext’s U.S. options exchanges to its Liquidity Center in Mahwah, NJ. Additionally, NYSE Euronext U.S. options’ migration to the Universal Trading Platform delivers a range of customer benefits, including the ability to quickly launch new trading applications that support distinct market structures and faster time to market for new functionality and performance improvements. It also enables clients to more effectively manage their business by providing common connectivity and market data protocols for NYSE Euronext exchanges.
NYSE Euronext's U.S. options exchanges, NYSE Arca and NYSE Amex options utilize industry leading open-outcry trading facilities with advanced electronic trading platforms. Upon completion of the capacity upgrade, both exchanges will be capable of processing 1 million orders and 8.4 million quotes per second with sub millisecond average acknowledgment (ACK) times, up from 500,000 orders and 4.2 million quotes previously. Together, these options exchanges present a compelling dual market structure offering the choice of price-time priority with maker-taker pricing on NYSE Arca options or pro-rata allocation with customer priority on NYSE Amex options.
