May saw strong demand for the Eurex suite of interest rate and equity derivatives. Overall, turnover rose 26% to 163 Million Euro at Europe’s largest derivatives exchange, which is part of Deutsche Börse Group.
Market participants strongly relied on equity derivatives (+36%) to hedge their exposures on European markets, while turnover in Eurex‘s fixed income products rose 31% to 47 Million Euro.
Market participants focused on the finance industry during the month as uncertainty around Brexit continued to have a direct impact on the sector. The departure of the UK from the EU entails significant changes to many banks’ business and operational models. This was reflected in strong volumes at Eurex, driven by a series of corporate news and related events. Participants turned to Eurex products to express their views on banks’ business strategies ahead of the reporting season.
The average daily volume (ADV) in Deutsche Bank equity options rose by 104 percent to 74,347. ADV in UBS equity options climbed 60 percent to 36,536 and Credit Suisse equity options saw a plus of 29 percent to an ADV of 26,616. To take a position on the overall industry, market participants relied on options and futures on the EURO STOXX Banks with an ADV of 442,485 and a plus of 173 percent.
Eurex‘s offering comprises more than 700 options and 1,000 futures on the most popular European underlyings. Market participants who bundle their European equity options trading at Eurex Exchange also benefit from cross margining efficiencies at Eurex Clearing and so maximize their collateral utilization.
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