Cboe Europe's new share trading hub, which launched in Amsterdam on Tuesday, has attracted light trading so far, giving nervous regulators and policymakers in Britain few clues on how much activity will eventually leave London after Brexit. Faced with the possibility of a no-deal Brexit or patchy UK access to the European Union's financial markets in future, London-based pan-European Cboe built a Dutch hub to ensure continuity for EU clients.

Volume in Amsterdam has been tiny. On Tuesday trading topped just 2,426 euros, rising to 1.23 million euros on Wednesday, and 3,648 euros so far on Thursday according to Cboe Global Markets data. An industry veteran described it as "cleaning the pipes". Cboe, which typically has the biggest daily market share with about 20% of European stocks, said customers were testing their access to the new platform.

"We expect initial volumes on Cboe NL will continue to be low as many firms may choose not to adjust their trading strategies until there is more clarity around the shape and timing of Brexit," a Cboe spokeswoman said.

Copyright Reuters, 2019