Nasdaq to Close NLX

The exchange operator broke the news in its fourth quarter earnings report. The decision was initially reached at an NLX board meeting on January 25. The final day of trading will be April 28.

"Nasdaq has made the decision to end its NLX interest-rate futures business. Nasdaq will be working with customers to manage the wind down of open positions in an orderly manner," the exchange operator said in the fourth quarter report.

Nasdaq also announced it was evolving its fixed-income strategy by combining its US and European fixed-income products under the label Nasdaq Fixed Income. The group will be led by John Shay, Nasdaq's global head of fixed income and commodities.

The exchange operator's listing services and corporate solutions businesses have also been realigned. The two will be brought together to form the corporate services segment. Market technology is now a separate reporting segment.

Nasdaq's net revenues for the fourth quarter were $599 million in the fourth quarter, a 12 percent increase from the fourth quarter 2015, but the firm still reported a net attributable loss of $224 million for the quarter.

"Looking at the fourth quarter 2016, I'm pleased with the strong underlying performances across the majority of our businesses, as reflected in our growth and record revenues. We also took strategic steps to better align our business segments, management, resources and clients. While this had an impact on our quarterly results, we feel it puts us in a stronger position to execute on the market opportunities in front of us," said Adena Friedman, president and CEO of Nasdaq.