UPDATE 1-Morgan Stanley sees pressure on exchanges post crisis
Jan 12 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley expects pressure on U.S. exchanges after the credit crisis, but said exchanges could benefit as investors shift their investment stategies to liquid, transparent exchange-listed products. "We see risk that fallout from lower volumes on the industry's fixed cost base could overshadow promising longer-tailed opportunities," analyst Patrick Pinschmidt said.
The brokerage raised the sector to "in-line" from "cautious," saying its prior "cautious" view was based on the belief that volume expectations were unrealistic.
The analysts said it believed the market was finally discounting a more bearish volume outlook and its bear case estimates represented a realistic proxy for downside earnings risks.
The analyst rated Intercontinental Exchange (ICE.N) "overweight", the world's largest derivatives exchange CME Group (CME.O) and Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ.O) "equal-weight" and NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) "underweight".
"We do not see sufficient catalysts for a positive stance on the group," analysts said.
Shares of CME were trading at $186.23 and Nasdaq OMX at $21.51 on Nasdaq, while those of NYSE Euronext were trading at $25.15 and ICE at $61.49 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Renju Jose in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)
