LONDON, March 6, 2026, 08:57 GMT
London Stock Exchange Group has clinched a deal with Australian Securities Exchange to revamp ASX 24, landing LSEG’s Markets Technology arm a prominent new client while scrutiny from investors stays intense. Under the agreement unveiled Wednesday, LSEG will implement a high-speed trading system for ASX 24, designed to slash latency on the platform that processes futures and options—contracts linked to everything from equities and interest rates to commodities. 1
Timing is key here. Just a week after LSEG announced its record £3 billion buyback and fresh 2026 targets, filings show the company snapped up roughly 1.21 million shares across March 3 and 4. That came even as Elliott Management pressed for more “value enhancing” steps. 2
So contracts like ASX 24 matter more now. For LSEG, they point to growth outside of pure cash returns—a key issue for shareholders. Frederick Kerr-Smiley at Ninety One gave the buyback the thumbs up, but Stephen Yiu from Blue Whale was blunt with Reuters: “We want growth,” adding, “the clock is ticking” if the group falls short. 3
LSEG’s Markets division posted 8.9% growth for 2025, with management now projecting income from the core business to climb another 6.5% to 7.5% in 2026. The company pointed out its exchange-technology unit is no stranger to global clients, already powering venues in Brazil, Qatar, Argentina, and Singapore—ASX joins that roster as the latest live deployment. 2
Bruce Kellaway, who heads LSEG Markets Technology, called ASX 24 “a vital part” of global derivatives trading. Farid Sammur, ASX’s head of Markets Technology, labeled the new upgrade a “critical investment,” saying it’s designed to keep things “fast, fair, and reliable” for clients working to manage risk and discover market prices. 4
The agreement comes as ASX faces ongoing efforts to restore confidence in its platforms, following a series of outages and system delays. Just this week, Reuters noted the exchange operator remains in the spotlight, grappling with old infrastructure issues and a legal case brought by Australia’s corporate regulator related to the postponed CHESS replacement. The project, which is at the heart of equity clearing and settlement, has drawn continued attention. 1
LSEG faces that same risk. “Confidence won’t be restored by announcements alone,” Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at Global X ETFs, told Reuters. Investors are likely to scrutinize the design, testing, and migration milestones right through 2026 and 2027, all before the targeted rollout in the first half of 2028. 1
LSEG is facing pushback on another front: concerns that AI might erode its data business. Chief executive David Schwimmer argued last week it was “verging on impossible” for AI models to duplicate LSEG’s proprietary datasets. The company, for its part, highlighted ongoing partnerships with Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic as evidence it can keep growing. 3
LSEG faces plenty of competition in market infrastructure tech. Nasdaq claims its marketplace technology now powers over 130 exchanges, clearing houses, and various market operators. Deutsche Börse, for its part, licenses the T7 trading platform to exchanges throughout Europe and further afield. ASX 24, then, is stepping into a crowded—if select—arena. 5
LSEG and ASX plan to use 2026 for design work, testing, migration, and getting market participants ready for the transition. Investors now have more milestones to watch—these come on top of buyback execution and LSEG’s updated growth goals. 4
