"Buy Europe" trade lifts European derivatives exchanges
European derivatives exchanges are reaping the benefits of this year's so-called buy Europe trade following renewed interest from international investors in the continent's financial markets, senior executives told FIA’s International Derivatives Expo in London on Wednesday.
"We see that there is an increased interest from clients outside of Europe to start trading more European products,” said Robbert Booij, chief executive at Eurex, Europe's largest exchange.
Booij said Eurex has seen record volumes across fixed-income and equity products this year and struck an optimistic note on the outlook for these markets.
"There's also talk about … a new diversification taking place [among asset managers] … That change is not going to happen very quickly, but we do see change happening," he said.
European stock markets are outperforming the US so far in 2025 as investors have questioned whether the era of US exceptionalism may be drawing to a close. Concerns over the Trump administration's erratic trade policy and a potential economic slowdown have weighed on the US dollar and prompted foreign investors to reconsider the overallocation many have held to US markets in recent years.
That has coincided with a period of brightening economic prospects on the other side of the Atlantic. Germany's €1trn fiscal bazooka announced earlier in 2025 has ignited hopes of higher economic growth on the continent following years of underinvestment and anaemic growth.
“It's not a market correction, it's a fundamental global reallocation of trust,” said Stephane Boujnah, CEO at Euronext, speaking at IDX. “People are moving trust away from the US as we used to know it, [which] creates [a] significant rotation of assets.”
This year's volatile markets have also played an important role in boosting European derivatives volumes. Executives pointed to a notable pickup in activity after the US announced sweeping tariffs on April 2 and markets swooned.
Boujnah said average daily trading volumes in Euronext's cash equity trading business reached as high as €32bn at the height of the market turmoil in April, compared to €10bn–€12bn normally. The exchange registered similar growth in its derivatives products too, he said.
However, exchanges warned that burdensome European regulations could yet undermine some of the potential gains from investors' newfound love for the continent's financial markets.
“The same feedback is [always] that the US innovates [while] Europe regulates,” Boujnah said.