I know there are many market maker firms that trade Options on indexes and options on stocks such as Group 1, Susquehanna, and Timber Hill. However are there firms out there that provide the same market making services/ firm proprietary trading for the electronic futures markets such as Eurex Eurostoxx, Dax futures, Bund Futures, 10 yr bond, ect. I would also be interested in firms that provide this service for US futures too. I am assuming most firms that have this service in the emini and electronic bond markets would have a presence in the pit too. Anyway if there were trading firms that did this I would appreciate if someone could provide some examples of firms that act as market makers on the electronic futures exchanges or could provide a link on where to find this kind of information.
The e-mini does not have market makers. The depth of market shows the number of contracts offered by sellers and buyers and their limit price. Market orders hit the bid or offer. The limit orders are filled in sequential order, so if you have had yours in the system for awhile, you'll be one of the first ones filled. If you try to sell the current ask price, you're coming in at the end of the line. If there are still market orders to buy the ask when your turn comes, you get filled. When all the limit orders to sell at the ask price are used up by market orders, then the market jumps up to the next price and the process repeats. That's a super-simplified explanation by simple me. But the point is that there are no market makers sitting there taking $12.50 off each contract that passes through the system, if so that would be the dream job! (400,000 contracts @ $12.50 = $5 million per day for the market makers!!! If they did exist.) Cheer, kp
It depends on how you define MM. I would think there are plenty of MMs in US equity index futures. But of course you are right (or so I hope) about the strict price-time priority.