Eurex
Xian Han Seah is a trader at Theme International Trading, a proprietary trading firm based in Singapore. Theme International supports liquidity in multiple asset classes, including commodities and energy. It has actively participated in the Eurex Asian trading sessions over the past two years.
What benefits did Eurex Asian trading sessions bring to your firm?
Eurex’s extension of trading hours has greatly supported our purpose of providing global liquidity across various asset classes. It gives us an additional venue and products to look at when we execute our trading strategies. Before the extension, we did not trade Europe; now, the region is part of our exposures. For our own trading, it adds a new dimension to our strategies, whether it is for hedges or just alpha generation. These initiatives also benefit the broader Asian markets, with increased liquidity and options for the region’s traders to participate in a greater variety of asset-class exposures.
What is liquidity like in Asian trading sessions?
Liquidity is pretty good, and spreads are attractively tight. As the popularity of these sessions increases, we expect that more market participants will trade during these hours and create a virtuous cycle of even better liquidity and pricing. With the liquidity and spread conditions continuously improving in the STOXX® products, we also see good opportunities to build up positions in these contracts without affecting our bottom line too much.
What other products would you like to see offered on Eurex during the extended trading hours?
If spreads and liquidity are good, most market participants will be happy to see all other products offered. The development of the rates products is encouraging, with good liquidity in the Euro-Bund futures. So, we would appreciate the building of liquidity in related products there. We also welcomed the variety of equity index futures that Eurex offers during these sessions, and it would be interesting to see new products in this asset class as well.
