ICE plans to spin off thriving Paris-based agricultural commodity contracts and may also have to sell London soft commodity contracts if its acquisition of NYSE Euronext goes through.Analysts and dealers said CME Group, which is already the dominant exchange in agricultural commodities, is likely to be interested in acquiring the Paris markets, which would provide regional diversification, and that interest is also likely from Asian exchanges.ICE announced in December it had agreed to purchase NYSE Euronext for $8.2 billion.The Atlanta-based exchange has said it plans an initial public offering of NYSE Euronext's equities and derivatives businesses that are based in continental Europe after the acquisition is completed in the second half of this year.
CME Group Inc. (CME Group) offers a range of global products across all asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate. Shares of CME traded higher by 0.39% or $0.221/share to $57.12. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $49.54 and as high as $60.92. On average, 2048780 shares of CME exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 780476.
Shares of NYX traded higher by 0.08% or $0.03/share to $36.17. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $22.25 and as high as $36.15. On average, 5010660 shares of NYX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1398720.
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