Reuters 3000 Xtra

Reuters 3000 Xtra was an electronic trading platform which was released by Reuters in 1999 and supported until the end of 2013. It was typically used by professional traders and financial analysts in trading rooms. It was superseded by the Eikon platform, first released in 2010.

3000 Xtra provided real-time market data such as price data on exchange traded stocks, warrants, options, futures, indices, bonds, commodities and currencies, as well as streaming news and comprehensive economic indicators and financial data. Originally designed as an information system, later versions also introduced trading functions, allowing orders to be placed on a number of electronic exchanges and with other dealing desks.

The client software connected to Reuters hardware at the client's premises, which combined multiple connections to the Reuters networks over redundant, fault-tolerant dedicated links, often private T1s. This was provided on-site via a proprietary and often redundant hardware installation, such as Reuters Market Data System (RMDS) or Triarch. One of the early attractions for dealers was the integration with Microsoft Excel and the instant messaging facility for sending messages to other dealing desks. The flexible Kobra client software allowed for a variety of real-time and historic market data visualizations and custom analytics. In addition, it could provide real-time Reuters headlines and news.

It went on to become the de facto platform on traders' desks in banks and financial institutions due to the breadth of the information available, despite the significant cost and dedicated infrastructure required.^[1] Its main rival was the Bloomberg Terminal, although in many cases both systems were used.