Euronext, which is under threat from a new alternative trading venue set up by banks reacting to the rising power of exchanges, today said profits in the first nine months of the year surged by two-thirds as the amount of cash and derivatives trading on its markets soared.

The exchange said third-quarter net profits rose 9% to €77.4m ($99.1m), helping push profits for the first nine months of the year almost two-thirds higher to €271.1m.