Latest news with #Optiver
The Sun
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Derivatives trading boom in India
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 US 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 US trading firm Jane Street earned US$2.34 billion (RM9.9 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 US$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. US-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 spokesman 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 spokesman 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 CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy. The exchange has spent between 4.5 billion rupees and 5 billion rupees (RM221 million to RM247 million) on technology in the last two years, he said. The NSE and regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India did not respond to queries for the report. – Reuters
NDTV
14 hours ago
- Business
- NDTV
Global Trading Giants Step Up India Presence, Fuelling Hiring Spree: Report
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 US 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 US 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. US-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 the 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.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
19 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Global trading giants expand in India, driving talent rush, upgrades
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 US President Donald Trump. The South Asian nation made up nearly 60 per cent 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 US 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 per cent 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. US-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. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Zawya
04-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
FX options market positioned for further dollar weakness
NEW YORK - The U.S. dollar has steadied after a sharp tumble this year but traders in the foreign exchange options market are positioned for the U.S. currency to weaken further amid growing concern about the U.S. economy and persistent trade-related tensions. Investors started the year expecting the Trump administration's policies to boost the dollar, helped by his tax cuts and safe haven demand stemming from protectionist policies. But that view quickly soured when U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled levies in April that were larger and broader than anticipated, spiking volatility and sending the dollar to a three-year low. While a temporary pause in some of the reciprocal tariffs has helped calm nerves, the options market still paints a dour outlook for the dollar. The options market can offer a view on how investors and traders expect currencies to fare months down the line. "FX option prices in general continue to point to a greater risk of further dollar weakening," said Tim Brooks, head of FX options at Optiver. "From our perspective there is no clear single large position, but relative to the past 5-10 years, we see unprecedented demand from investors to own USD puts in comparison with at-the-money options or USD calls." Put options confer the right to sell the underlying security at a fixed price and date and are typically bought to express a bearish view. Their bullish counterpart is the call option, which grants the right to buy at a set price and known time frame. Because the foreign exchange market quotes currencies in pairs like dollars per euro , and yen per dollar , a bullish position on the euro indicates a bearish view on the dollar. FX risk reversals, a type of options strategy that involves the simultaneous purchase of a put option and sale of a call, or vice versa, are useful indicators of which currency is seeing more demand. Pricing on several of these currency pairs remains near multi-year highs despite the pause in the dollar's slide this year, highlighting the market's bearish stance on the buck. According to LSEG data, the three-month , six-month , and one-year 25-delta EURUSD at-the-money risk reversal measures just edged off their highest level of bullishness for the euro against the dollar on records dating to 2007, apart from a brief interlude during the 2020 pandemic's market disruption. "Positioning remains extremely bearish on the dollar," Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, said. "Pricing increases across the curve, with one-year risk reversals trading well above their shorter-term equivalents, suggest that options market participants expect the euro to continue its gradual grind higher," he said. The euro is up nearly 10% against the dollar this year. DOLLAR BEARS AT PLAY Other popular bets being placed are for the dollar to fall against the yen, Sagar Sambrani, senior FX options trader at Nomura, said. Investors are building up positions in dollar puts, trades to sell the U.S. currency particularly against currencies like the euro and sterling, suggesting they remain convinced the greenback has more losses in store. CME Group's options data show USD puts have drawn strong demand, both in aggregate and against most major currencies. In May, USD puts made up just over 59% of traded FX options volume, said Chris Povey, head of FX options at CME Group. Demand for dollar puts over calls was especially apparent in the yen and the Australian dollar, Povey said, making up more than 65% of the options volume in those pairs. Options data hint at expectations that the pace of decline in the dollar from here may be more measured relative to the sharp drop seen since the start of the year. The dollar is down about 9% against the euro, and the yen, respectively, for the year. The euro was last at $1.1443, and the dollar was trading at 142.70 yen. "Traders think spot market momentum will fade in the short term, but are betting on a gradual narrowing in relative growth differentials between the advanced economies by the autumn, along with a slow-motion diversification push over the next year, with major investors reallocating resources toward structurally undervalued markets outside the United States," Corpay's Schamotta said. CONTRARIANS BEWARE Investor confidence in the U.S. economy outperforming the rest of the world has taken a knock in recent months. Worries about rising U.S. debt and a widening budget deficit have also come to the fore, bolstering investors' desire to lighten up on U.S. assets. "I don't think we have the conviction to fight this consensus," Jayati Bharadwaj, a global FX strategist at TD Securities. "The new announcements that we have seen since the start of the year ... after a long time there are fundamental reasons to be bearish on the dollar," she said. With trade policy in flux, the dollar could well experience modest relief rallies. It also has the great advantage of being the No. 1 central bank reserve currency, backed by the world's safest and most liquid government debt market, with higher interest rates than rival developed-economy currencies. But on balance, the path of least resistance for the dollar is lower, strategists and investors said. "We've seen a significant amount of buying of dollar puts coming from a number of different types of clients," said an FX options trader at a large U.S. bank, who did not want to be named because of the private nature of these trades. "We still want to have exposure to dollar weakness, because that's the trade that when you add up all the things that are going on in the world probably makes the most sense," the trader said.
Reuters
03-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
FX options market positioned for further dollar weakness
NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar has steadied after a sharp tumble this year but traders in the foreign exchange options market are positioned for the U.S. currency to weaken further amid growing concern about the U.S. economy and persistent trade-related tensions. Investors started the year expecting the Trump administration's policies to boost the dollar, helped by his tax cuts and safe haven demand stemming from protectionist policies. But that view quickly soured when U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled levies in April that were larger and broader than anticipated, spiking volatility and sending the dollar to a three-year low. While a temporary pause in some of the reciprocal tariffs has helped calm nerves, the options market still paints a dour outlook for the dollar. The options market can offer a view on how investors and traders expect currencies to fare months down the line. "FX option prices in general continue to point to a greater risk of further dollar weakening," said Tim Brooks, head of FX options at Optiver. "From our perspective there is no clear single large position, but relative to the past 5-10 years, we see unprecedented demand from investors to own USD puts in comparison with at-the-money options or USD calls." Put options confer the right to sell the underlying security at a fixed price and date and are typically bought to express a bearish view. Their bullish counterpart is the call option, which grants the right to buy at a set price and known time frame. Because the foreign exchange market quotes currencies in pairs like dollars per euro , and yen per dollar , a bullish position on the euro indicates a bearish view on the dollar. FX risk reversals, a type of options strategy that involves the simultaneous purchase of a put option and sale of a call, or vice versa, are useful indicators of which currency is seeing more demand. Pricing on several of these currency pairs remains near multi-year highs despite the pause in the dollar's slide this year, highlighting the market's bearish stance on the buck. According to LSEG data, the three-month , six-month , and one-year 25-delta EURUSD at-the-money risk reversal measures just edged off their highest level of bullishness for the euro against the dollar on records dating to 2007, apart from a brief interlude during the 2020 pandemic's market disruption. "Positioning remains extremely bearish on the dollar," Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, said. "Pricing increases across the curve, with one-year risk reversals trading well above their shorter-term equivalents, suggest that options market participants expect the euro to continue its gradual grind higher," he said. The euro is up nearly 10% against the dollar this year. Other popular bets being placed are for the dollar to fall against the yen, Sagar Sambrani, senior FX options trader at Nomura, said. Investors are building up positions in dollar puts, trades to sell the U.S. currency particularly against currencies like the euro and sterling, suggesting they remain convinced the greenback has more losses in store. CME Group's options data show USD puts have drawn strong demand, both in aggregate and against most major currencies. In May, USD puts made up just over 59% of traded FX options volume, said Chris Povey, head of FX options at CME Group. Demand for dollar puts over calls was especially apparent in the yen and the Australian dollar, Povey said, making up more than 65% of the options volume in those pairs. Options data hint at expectations that the pace of decline in the dollar from here may be more measured relative to the sharp drop seen since the start of the year. The dollar is down about 9% against the euro, and the yen, respectively, for the year. The euro was last at $1.1443, and the dollar was trading at 142.70 yen. "Traders think spot market momentum will fade in the short term, but are betting on a gradual narrowing in relative growth differentials between the advanced economies by the autumn, along with a slow-motion diversification push over the next year, with major investors reallocating resources toward structurally undervalued markets outside the United States," Corpay's Schamotta said. Investor confidence in the U.S. economy outperforming the rest of the world has taken a knock in recent months. Worries about rising U.S. debt and a widening budget deficit have also come to the fore, bolstering investors' desire to lighten up on U.S. assets. "I don't think we have the conviction to fight this consensus," Jayati Bharadwaj, a global FX strategist at TD Securities. "The new announcements that we have seen since the start of the year ... after a long time there are fundamental reasons to be bearish on the dollar," she said. With trade policy in flux, the dollar could well experience modest relief rallies. It also has the great advantage of being the No. 1 central bank reserve currency, backed by the world's safest and most liquid government debt market, with higher interest rates than rival developed-economy currencies. But on balance, the path of least resistance for the dollar is lower, strategists and investors said. "We've seen a significant amount of buying of dollar puts coming from a number of different types of clients," said an FX options trader at a large U.S. bank, who did not want to be named because of the private nature of these trades. "We still want to have exposure to dollar weakness, because that's the trade that when you add up all the things that are going on in the world probably makes the most sense," the trader said.
