Nasdaq OMX has won approval from the Financial Services Authority to commence trading as a Multilateral Trading Facility on 26 September. The platform is set to face fresh competition from a new MTF being launched by pan-European rival Nyse Euronext, codenamed Octopus.
Nasdaq OMX Europe will initially open for trading in 25 constituents of the FTSE 100. That will then be followed by a staggered roll-out of approximately 600 European securities to be completed by the end of October.
Charlotte Croswell, president of Nasdaq OMX Europe comments: "We look forward to launching the new platform at the end of September. This has the potential to revolutionise the patterns of trading in Europe with only a single connection."
The FSA approval for Nasdaq OMX coincides with news that Nyse Euronext - which currently trades across European borders - is set to fight fire with fire with the launch of its own MTF, dubbed Octopus, in November.
The new MTF - which be based on Nyse Euronext's Arca trading technology - will begin with a phased introduction of between 400-500 pan-European blue chips. The system will be designed to attract algorithmic traders, using a central limit order book and offer "ultra-low latency in microseconds".
Cees Vermaas, executive director, European sales at NYSE Euronext, says: "This exciting new service complements both our existing market and the block trading facility, SmartPool, giving our customers access to a range of execution solutions, depending on the needs of their flow. In an increasingly competitive marketplace we have a huge advantage in that we already have the client connections and infrastructure whereby our members will be able to access this new MTF."