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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Morgan Stanley to Exit U.S. Options Market-Making Business
Morgan Stanley MS is planning to shut its automated market-making business that specializes in electronic market-making for U.S. stock options. The news was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter. The unit had been part of the MS efforts to execute options trades electronically and pay retail brokers for order flow. Morgan Stanley is winding down its options market-making operations, stepping back from a sector increasingly dominated by high-speed trading firms. The decision marks a strategic exit from a business where electronic execution and payment for order flow had been central. Despite significant growth in U.S. derivatives activity, traditional banks like Morgan Stanley face increasing challenges competing with proprietary trading firms such as Citadel Securities and IMC Trading. These firms leverage superior speed, scale, and technology while operating under lighter regulatory burdens. Once among the few major banks still paying for options order flow, Morgan Stanley's exit plan reflects the structural challenges faced by traditional market participants when competing with companies optimized for speed, scalability, and technological sophistication, often under less stringent regulatory regimes. Shares of MS have rallied 37.7% compared with the industry's 29.8% growth in the past year. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Currently, Morgan Stanley carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of other noteworthy banks include Affiliated Managers (AMG) and Evercore Inc. (EVR). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMG has remained unchanged for 2025 over the past week. Its stock has risen 17.5% in the past six months. AMG currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Similarly, earnings estimates for EVR have also remained unchanged for the current year in the last week. Shares of EVR have gained 26.7% over the past year. The stock presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Morgan Stanley (MS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Evercore Inc (EVR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (AMG) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Zawya
21 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Global trading giants step up India presence, fuelling talent rush, exchange upgrades
MUMBAI - Half a dozen global trading giants, from Citadel Securities and IMC Trading to Millennium and Optiver, are ratcheting up their presence in India's booming derivatives markets, fuelling a hiring spree and pushing exchanges to improve technology. The firms' hiring plans, being reported for the first time, come amid expectations that large domestic consumer and investor bases will help shield India from global turmoil sparked by the trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. The South Asian nation made up nearly 60% of global equity derivative trading volumes of 7.3 billion in April, the Futures Industry Association says, while its regulators say notional turnover of the contracts has grown 48 times since March 2018. For Western firms, the gold rush is too big to ignore, particularly after U.S. trading firm Jane Street earned $2.34 billion from its India trading strategy last year, some of the firms' executives said. "We have seen competition increasing both on the trading front, where you see more players going for the same opportunities, and on the job market as well," said Jocelyn Dentand of global high-speed trader IMC Trading. The firm plans to grow its team by more than 50% by the end of 2026 to stand at more than 150, added Dentand, the managing director of its India unit. Foreign investors turned buyers of Indian stocks in April and May, purchasing a net $2.8 billion, as they abandoned their previous selling stance from October 2024 to March 2025, prompted by high valuations and slower growth in earnings. U.S.-based Citadel Securities, a market-making firm founded by well known investor Kenneth Griffin, runs a leaner team of around 10 in India but has ramped up capital allocation to its operations, said a source familiar with its plans. "In India, we're constantly looking for talent and constantly hiring," said the source, who sought anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to the media and declined to give details of the plan. Hedge fund Millennium is expanding its India desk via Dubai and Singapore, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter, who also sought anonymity on the same grounds. Millennium declined to comment for the story. Citadel Securities did not respond to an email seeking comment. Netherlands-based Optiver, which launched India operations in 2024, plans to grow its team to 100 by the end of 2025, a spokesperson said, up from 70 now. "Optiver is investing ambitiously in India, with a view to expanding to 100 FTEs by year-end and scaling further in the years ahead," the spokesperson added. Amsterdam-based trading firm Da Vinci and London-based Qube Research and Technologies are also recruiting for quantitative trading roles in India, public postings for jobs show. RUSH FOR TECH, TALENT Global trading firms are also looking to expand in India by recruiting aggressively from top domestic universities and poaching from home-grown competitors. They have hired about 300 people in India in the last two years across the trading, technology, compliance, risk, and legal functions, Hong Kong-based recruiter Aquis Search estimates. "We foresee a good run for the next few years," said Annpurna Bist, its head of quant and tech. Intensifying competition has driven up salaries, with even junior traders paid more than double the figure of three years ago, said Bhautik Ambani, head of AlphaGrep Investment Management, one of India's leading quant trading firms. India's top engineering schools have become the favoured hunting grounds for talent. "We almost solely hire our traders and software engineers from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)," said IMC's Dentand, referring to the country's chain of prestigious engineering schools. But hiring efforts are now being widened to the universities beyond the IITs, Dentand said. The influx of global trading firms has opened up opportunities for India's two main exchanges, which are both upgrading their tech infrastructure. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) plans to add 2,000 co-location racks over the next two years while older stalwart the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) aims to scale up to 500 by the end of fiscal 2026, from none in March 2024. Such racks are servers at exchanges that cut trade execution times to microseconds. "We are a late entrant and need to provide additional value for the unfulfilled demand from high-frequency trading firms and quant firms, amongst others, for co-location racks," said BSE Chief Executive Sundararaman Ramamurthy. The exchange has spent between 4.5 billion rupees and 5 billion rupees ($52 million to $58 million) on technology in the last two years, he said. The NSE and regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not respond to queries for the report. ($1=85.9675 rupees) (Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay, Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Ira Dugal and Clarence Fernandez)
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Global trading giants step up India presence, fuelling talent rush, exchange upgrades
By Jaspreet Kalra and Jayshree P Upadhyay MUMBAI (Reuters) -Half a dozen global trading giants, from Citadel Securities and IMC Trading to Millennium and Optiver, are ratcheting up their presence in India's booming derivatives markets, fuelling a hiring spree and pushing exchanges to improve technology. The firms' hiring plans, being reported for the first time, come amid expectations that large domestic consumer and investor bases will help shield India from global turmoil sparked by the trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. The South Asian nation made up nearly 60% of global equity derivative trading volumes of 7.3 billion in April, the Futures Industry Association says, while its regulators say notional turnover of the contracts has grown 48 times since March 2018. For Western firms, the gold rush is too big to ignore, particularly after U.S. trading firm Jane Street earned $2.34 billion from its India trading strategy last year, some of the firms' executives said. "We have seen competition increasing both on the trading front, where you see more players going for the same opportunities, and on the job market as well," said Jocelyn Dentand of global high-speed trader IMC Trading. The firm plans to grow its team by more than 50% by the end of 2026 to stand at more than 150, added Dentand, the managing director of its India unit. Foreign investors turned buyers of Indian stocks in April and May, purchasing a net $2.8 billion, as they abandoned their previous selling stance from October 2024 to March 2025, prompted by high valuations and slower growth in earnings. U.S.-based Citadel Securities, a market-making firm founded by well known investor Kenneth Griffin, runs a leaner team of around 10 in India but has ramped up capital allocation to its operations, said a source familiar with its plans. "In India, we're constantly looking for talent and constantly hiring," said the source, who sought anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to the media and declined to give details of the plan. Hedge fund Millennium is expanding its India desk via Dubai and Singapore, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter, who also sought anonymity on the same grounds. Millennium declined to comment for the story. Citadel Securities did not respond to an email seeking comment. Netherlands-based Optiver, which launched India operations in 2024, plans to grow its team to 100 by the end of 2025, a spokesperson said, up from 70 now. "Optiver is investing ambitiously in India, with a view to expanding to 100 FTEs by year-end and scaling further in the years ahead," the spokesperson added. Amsterdam-based trading firm Da Vinci and London-based Qube Research and Technologies are also recruiting for quantitative trading roles in India, public postings for jobs show. RUSH FOR TECH, TALENT Global trading firms are also looking to expand in India by recruiting aggressively from top domestic universities and poaching from home-grown competitors. They have hired about 300 people in India in the last two years across the trading, technology, compliance, risk, and legal functions, Hong Kong-based recruiter Aquis Search estimates. "We foresee a good run for the next few years," said Annpurna Bist, its head of quant and tech. Intensifying competition has driven up salaries, with even junior traders paid more than double the figure of three years ago, said Bhautik Ambani, head of AlphaGrep Investment Management, one of India's leading quant trading firms. India's top engineering schools have become the favoured hunting grounds for talent. "We almost solely hire our traders and software engineers from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)," said IMC's Dentand, referring to the country's chain of prestigious engineering schools. But hiring efforts are now being widened to the universities beyond the IITs, Dentand said. The influx of global trading firms has opened up opportunities for India's two main exchanges, which are both upgrading their tech infrastructure. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) plans to add 2,000 co-location racks over the next two years while older stalwart the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) aims to scale up to 500 by the end of fiscal 2026, from none in March 2024. Such racks are servers at exchanges that cut trade execution times to microseconds. "We are a late entrant and need to provide additional value for the unfulfilled demand from high-frequency trading firms and quant firms, amongst others, for co-location racks," said BSE Chief Executive Sundararaman Ramamurthy. The exchange has spent between 4.5 billion rupees and 5 billion rupees ($52 million to $58 million) on technology in the last two years, he said. The NSE and regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not respond to queries for the report. ($1=85.9675 rupees)
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Global trading giants step up India presence, fuelling talent rush, exchange upgrades
By Jaspreet Kalra and Jayshree P Upadhyay MUMBAI (Reuters) -Half a dozen global trading giants, from Citadel Securities and IMC Trading to Millennium and Optiver, are ratcheting up their presence in India's booming derivatives markets, fuelling a hiring spree and pushing exchanges to improve technology. The firms' hiring plans, being reported for the first time, come amid expectations that large domestic consumer and investor bases will help shield India from global turmoil sparked by the trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. The South Asian nation made up nearly 60% of global equity derivative trading volumes of 7.3 billion in April, the Futures Industry Association says, while its regulators say notional turnover of the contracts has grown 48 times since March 2018. For Western firms, the gold rush is too big to ignore, particularly after U.S. trading firm Jane Street earned $2.34 billion from its India trading strategy last year, some of the firms' executives said. "We have seen competition increasing both on the trading front, where you see more players going for the same opportunities, and on the job market as well," said Jocelyn Dentand of global high-speed trader IMC Trading. The firm plans to grow its team by more than 50% by the end of 2026 to stand at more than 150, added Dentand, the managing director of its India unit. Foreign investors turned buyers of Indian stocks in April and May, purchasing a net $2.8 billion, as they abandoned their previous selling stance from October 2024 to March 2025, prompted by high valuations and slower growth in earnings. U.S.-based Citadel Securities, a market-making firm founded by well known investor Kenneth Griffin, runs a leaner team of around 10 in India but has ramped up capital allocation to its operations, said a source familiar with its plans. "In India, we're constantly looking for talent and constantly hiring," said the source, who sought anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to the media and declined to give details of the plan. Hedge fund Millennium is expanding its India desk via Dubai and Singapore, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter, who also sought anonymity on the same grounds. Millennium declined to comment for the story. Citadel Securities did not respond to an email seeking comment. Netherlands-based Optiver, which launched India operations in 2024, plans to grow its team to 100 by the end of 2025, a spokesperson said, up from 70 now. "Optiver is investing ambitiously in India, with a view to expanding to 100 FTEs by year-end and scaling further in the years ahead," the spokesperson added. Amsterdam-based trading firm Da Vinci and London-based Qube Research and Technologies are also recruiting for quantitative trading roles in India, public postings for jobs show. RUSH FOR TECH, TALENT Global trading firms are also looking to expand in India by recruiting aggressively from top domestic universities and poaching from home-grown competitors. They have hired about 300 people in India in the last two years across the trading, technology, compliance, risk, and legal functions, Hong Kong-based recruiter Aquis Search estimates. "We foresee a good run for the next few years," said Annpurna Bist, its head of quant and tech. Intensifying competition has driven up salaries, with even junior traders paid more than double the figure of three years ago, said Bhautik Ambani, head of AlphaGrep Investment Management, one of India's leading quant trading firms. India's top engineering schools have become the favoured hunting grounds for talent. "We almost solely hire our traders and software engineers from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)," said IMC's Dentand, referring to the country's chain of prestigious engineering schools. But hiring efforts are now being widened to the universities beyond the IITs, Dentand said. The influx of global trading firms has opened up opportunities for India's two main exchanges, which are both upgrading their tech infrastructure. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) plans to add 2,000 co-location racks over the next two years while older stalwart the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) aims to scale up to 500 by the end of fiscal 2026, from none in March 2024. Such racks are servers at exchanges that cut trade execution times to microseconds. "We are a late entrant and need to provide additional value for the unfulfilled demand from high-frequency trading firms and quant firms, amongst others, for co-location racks," said BSE Chief Executive Sundararaman Ramamurthy. The exchange has spent between 4.5 billion rupees and 5 billion rupees ($52 million to $58 million) on technology in the last two years, he said. The NSE and regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not respond to queries for the report. ($1=85.9675 rupees) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: Global trading giants step up India presence, fuelling talent rush, exchange upgrades
MUMBAI, June 20 (Reuters) - Half a dozen global trading giants, from Citadel Securities and IMC Trading to Millennium and Optiver, are ratcheting up their presence in India's booming derivatives markets, fuelling a hiring spree and pushing exchanges to improve technology. The firms' hiring plans, being reported for the first time, come amid expectations that large domestic consumer and investor bases will help shield India from global turmoil sparked by the trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. The South Asian nation made up nearly 60% of global equity derivative trading volumes of 7.3 billion in April, the Futures Industry Association says, while its regulators say notional turnover of the contracts has grown 48 times since March 2018. For Western firms, the gold rush is too big to ignore, particularly after U.S. trading firm Jane Street earned $2.34 billion from its India trading strategy last year, some of the firms' executives said. "We have seen competition increasing both on the trading front, where you see more players going for the same opportunities, and on the job market as well," said Jocelyn Dentand of global high-speed trader IMC Trading. The firm plans to grow its team by more than 50% by the end of 2026 to stand at more than 150, added Dentand, the managing director of its India unit. Foreign investors turned buyers of Indian stocks in April and May, purchasing a net $2.8 billion, as they abandoned their previous selling stance from October 2024 to March 2025, prompted by high valuations and slower growth in earnings. U.S.-based Citadel Securities, a market-making firm founded by well known investor Kenneth Griffin, runs a leaner team of around 10 in India but has ramped up capital allocation to its operations, said a source familiar with its plans. "In India, we're constantly looking for talent and constantly hiring," said the source, who sought anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to the media and declined to give details of the plan. Hedge fund Millennium is expanding its India desk via Dubai and Singapore, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter, who also sought anonymity on the same grounds. Millennium declined to comment for the story. Citadel Securities did not respond to an email seeking comment. Netherlands-based Optiver, which launched India operations in 2024, plans to grow its team to 100 by the end of 2025, a spokesperson said, up from 70 now. "Optiver is investing ambitiously in India, with a view to expanding to 100 FTEs by year-end and scaling further in the years ahead," the spokesperson added. Amsterdam-based trading firm Da Vinci and London-based Qube Research and Technologies are also recruiting for quantitative trading roles in India, public postings for jobs show. Global trading firms are also looking to expand in India by recruiting aggressively from top domestic universities and poaching from home-grown competitors. They have hired about 300 people in India in the last two years across the trading, technology, compliance, risk, and legal functions, Hong Kong-based recruiter Aquis Search estimates. "We foresee a good run for the next few years," said Annpurna Bist, its head of quant and tech. Intensifying competition has driven up salaries, with even junior traders paid more than double the figure of three years ago, said Bhautik Ambani, head of AlphaGrep Investment Management, one of India's leading quant trading firms. India's top engineering schools have become the favoured hunting grounds for talent. "We almost solely hire our traders and software engineers from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)," said IMC's Dentand, referring to the country's chain of prestigious engineering schools. But hiring efforts are now being widened to the universities beyond the IITs, Dentand said. The influx of global trading firms has opened up opportunities for India's two main exchanges, which are both upgrading their tech infrastructure. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) plans to add 2,000 co-location racks over the next two years while older stalwart the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) aims to scale up to 500 by the end of fiscal 2026, from none in March 2024. Such racks are servers at exchanges that cut trade execution times to microseconds. "We are a late entrant and need to provide additional value for the unfulfilled demand from high-frequency trading firms and quant firms, amongst others, for co-location racks," said BSE Chief Executive Sundararaman Ramamurthy. The exchange has spent between 4.5 billion rupees and 5 billion rupees ($52 million to $58 million) on technology in the last two years, he said. The NSE and regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not respond to queries for the report. ($1=85.9675 rupees)
