NYSE Euronext, the world’s largest stock exchange operator, plans to launch a US futures exchange that will offer cross-border investment in a bid to challenge derivatives giants CME Group and Eurex.

Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of the exchange group, said: "We have an opportunity to really marry the Liffe business in Europe with the business we are going try to build here in the U.S. and then we can get into some very interesting trans-Atlantic ideas like cross-margining and things like that."