The transatlantic exchange, Nasdaq OMX on Thursday highlighted how exchanges and trading platforms are struggling to balance the use of cash incentives to attract traders with a need to charge them to generate revenue as it reported an 18 per cent fall in third-quarter net income.

The New York-based group said that excluding merger expenses, losses on the sale of investments and other expenses, net income fell to $89m, or 42 cents per diluted share, from $108m, or 51 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.