Thomson Reuters today announced the launch of a new Elektron feed which will deliver ultra low latency access to pan-Japanese equities and derivatives markets. The service which was developed in response to changes in Japanese market structure will deliver the broadest picture of liquidity and unparalleled performance for price discovery and transparency.
The last 12 months have seen the introduction of new trading platforms such as the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Arrowhead system and regulatory changes that support the growth of alternative proprietary trading systems (PTS), all of which are leading to an increase in the local adoption of advanced trading strategies. Analyst firms predict that nearly 30% of the equity order flow in Japan will be derived from algorithmic trading within the next two years. With tighter spreads and rapid price movements, financial firms trading in the Japanese markets will require comprehensive real-time data and higher capacity and scalability in their data infrastructure.
The new Elektron feed provides access to all the Japanese liquidity pools, including the Tokyo Stock Exchange, SBI Japannext, Chi-X Japan, Kabu.com, Osaka Securities Exchange/JASDAQ, and TDEX+ Options. Financial markets participants can connect to the ultra low latency feed via a single, resilient connection in addition to Thomson Reuters Elektron proximity and co-location hosting solution. The combination of low latency real-time feeds and strategically located hosting centers creates the optimal high performance price discovery and execution support environment, which will enable firms to lower trading costs and generate alpha.
Mike Powell, global head of Enterprise Real-time Solutions, Thomson Reuters, stated: “Given the growing penetration of advanced trading strategies and competitive innovation taking place in Japan, low latency execution and data will become a differentiating factor for participants. We are excited to extend this Elektron offering in Asia; the combination of the new pan-Japanese feed and hosting solution will simplify the costs and complexity of high performance access to multiple liquidity pools for our customers. It will also improve time to market and provide a robust solution which will power their trading solutions.”
Additionally, financial institutions can connect to over 350 markets worldwide by plugging into the Elektron service. The Japanese trading venues are also available to customers as individual low latency feed handlers, leveraging Thomson Reuters award winning Data Feed Direct technology. For less latency sensitive applications and desktop requirements the Thomson Reuters consolidated tape for the Japanese market and Global TCA platform also offer increased market depth.
Today’s launch further strengthens Thomson Reuters commitment to financial markets in Asia and delivering low latency solutions globally. This follows other announcements introducing our Elektron Hosting Solution in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai during 2010 and the successful introduction of similar services for pan-European and pan-North American markets.
