UPDATE 4-More cost cutting helps NYSE Euronext beat Street

* EPS ex-items 51 cents; Street view 45 cents

* Fixed expenses down 6 percent

* Liffe Clear launched in Europe

* Shares up 1.5 percent in New York (Adds market share, industry context, CEO comments, updates share price)

Jonathan Spicer and Daisy Ku

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Aggressive cost cutting helped NYSE Euronext (NYX.N)(NYX.PA) beat earnings expectations for a second straight quarter Thursday, and the exchange operator expects staff cuts to yield more savings.

Analysts applauded a surprising 6 percent drop in fixed expenses and word from management that the company could exceed 2009 cost savings targets set only three months ago.

The New York Stock Exchange parent company, whose shares rose 1.5 percent, has squeezed hard on expenses to offset tighter margins brought on by fierce battles for market share in equities and derivatives on both sides of the Atlantic.

"There was a lot of fat to be cut there," said Chris Allan, analyst at broker-dealer Pali Capital. "The old management team did not do a very good job of integrating things. This is a very pro-active management team -- these guys are cleaning house."

Excluding one-time items, NYSE Euronext earned 51 cents per share in the second quarter, topping analysts' average forecast by 6 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

While gross revenue rose 9.5 percent to $1.12 billion, net revenue dropped 13.6 percent on fee reductions in U.S. and European stock trading. Foreign currency changes also impacted revenue, which was slightly below expectations.

One-time charges resulted in a second-quarter net loss of $182 million, or 70 cents per share, for the trans-Atlantic exchange operator.

It recorded a $355 million charge related to the termination of its European clearing contract with London-based LCH.Clearnet. It also absorbed a $87 million charge from about 290 job cuts in Europe and the United States, which were expected after the integration of several mergers.

A year earlier, the company posted a net profit of 73 cents per share, and earnings of 75 cents a share before one-time items.

Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates and investment in new business, the second quarter's underlying fixed expenses were down $50 million, or 12 percent, from a year earlier.

Shares of NYSE Euronext, the world's largest exchange operator by the market cap of its listings, were up 41 cents to $27.43 in midday trade in New York.

JOB CUTS

Duncan Niederauer, NYSE Euronext's chief executive, said the job cuts will translate into "sources of future revenue growth and expense reductions." Headcount was 3,500 as of June 30, down 9 percent from a year ago.

The company said it expects to exceed -- or at least hit the low end of -- its 2009 cost savings target. In April it said it expected fixed operating expenses of $1.82 billion to $1.90 billion; it repeated that target on Thursday.

Other exchanges are also cutting jobs to offset pressure on trading revenue in an industry where market participants regularly receive rebates for adding liquidity.

NYSE Euronext said its Liffe Clear platform launched in Europe on Thursday. The venture, a central clearing counterparty for the London derivatives market, is expected to boost NYSE Euronext earnings this year and yield more than $100 million in annual revenue.

NYSE Euronext also runs bourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Lisbon, as well as the London-based derivatives exchange Liffe, following its 2007 acquisition of Euronext.

Average U.S. equity trading volume jumped 25 percent and European volume rose 6 percent from a year ago, boosting cash trading revenue 20 percent. Derivatives trading revenue, accounting for a quarter of overall revenue, fell 10 percent.

"Solid expense control and continued synergy realization drove this quarter's upside; revenues were a bit light of our expectations," Credit Suisse analyst Howard Chen said in a note to clients, noting a "backdrop of potential declines in industrywide volumes and further competitive pressures."

NYSE Euronext has been under pressure from start-up stock trading venues in the United States and Europe, and has scrambled to bring in new technology that speeds up trading.

The company's matched market share in its own NYSE listings was about 39 percent in the second quarter, down from 43 percent a year ago and 81 percent five years ago.

Niederauer, who became CEO in 2007 and has regularly expounded on market swings, said he was encouraged by recent "stabilization of the markets," adding, "Downside risks remain for the economy, and we're certainly not out of the woods.

"I am confident that the U.S. equity markets will return to historic levels of volume growth over time." (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Daisy Ku, editing by Will Waterman and John Wallace)