It is the first penalty imposed on a European exchange in connection with high-speed trading and comes after years of heated debate into whether stock markets are slanted in favour of sophisticated traders which use computers to trade in fractions of a second. A divisive practice, regulators are still unsure whether high-frequency trading benefits markets by adding liquidity or harms them by distorting price discovery.
The possibility of Euronext being fined was first reported by Financial News in March.
Euronext, which operates exchanges in France, Belgium, Holland and Portugal, said in a December 4 statement that it would appeal the decision, which it regarded as “open to dispute, totally disproportionate and completely anachronistic.”
The Autorité des Marchés said Madison Tyler Europe – bought in 2011 by Virtu, one of the world’s largest HFT firms – broke rules around the number of times it changed quotes to buy or sell 27 stocks on the French market between July 21,
Article source: http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2015-12-08/virtu-and-euronext-fined-5-million-each-for-market-manipulation?mod=rss-tradingandtechnology
