Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of NYSE Euronext, expects trading volumes to remain muted and said this year will be critical for the exchange group’s post-trade products, as it focuses on the growth of its technology business and considers all of its clearing options.

Niederauer spent the first 20 minutes of the results call today walking through the exchange's standalone strategy following the blocking of its planned merger with Deutsche Börse - consisting of new products and services, particularly related to clearing, reducing costs and returning capital to shareholders.