Exchanges and brokers have started bracing themselves for the imminent plunge into penny pricing for US equity options, a move that was expected to massively increase options messaging and trading volume.
The move to pennies was scheduled to launch on 29 January with 13 listings as a six-month pilot programme. While there remained more questions than answers before the launch, many believed messaging traffic would soar as would volumes in those listings. Options Price Reporting Authority (OPRA) was preparing to handle the transition by switching its bandwidth peak capacity to 360,000 messages per second on 1 January, up from its previous level of 190,000 messages per second.
Industry executives, who spoke at Futures Industry Association's annual conference...