Aquis Exchange PLC (AIM:AQX) has announced the launch of its new 'Dark to Lit Sweep' functionality on its UK and EU platforms, promising better prices for traders.
The alternative stock exchange operator, in a statement, said the new function will let dealers "sweep" both the "dark book" and its "matching pool" through a single order, allowing the "best possible price" across both books whilst maintaining a "low" market impact.
Dealers can opt to cancel orders if no immediate opposing order is found on either book, or can rest on the "lit book" until the remainder of the order is matched.
David Stevens, Aquis chief revenue officer, described the latest functionality as “a natural extension of our overall strategy”.
"At Aquis we are intent on offering our members multiple options to execute their flow with as minimal impact and cost as possible,” Stevens said.
“That is why we launched our dark pool (AMP) a year ago and continue to enhance the functionality of Auction on Demand (AoD).
“We intend to further expand our range of order types and functionality in 2023.”
Aquis noted that it added dark trading to its dealing suite in 2022, following the acquisition of technologies from UBS which were migrated into its in-house platform and combined with its existing AMP operation.
It highlighted that AMP trades are up some 25% in terms of average daily value (for April’s data versus the prior year).