The market would have offered trading in contract-for-difference instruments on commodities, currency pairs and equities.

Plans for the MTF, which were being developed internally under the name Tangent, were unveiled in April when the exchange group was reported to have spent £7m ($11m) on the development of the platform.

However, NYSE Euronext spokesman James Dunseath confirmed today that the plans had been shelved.

“We were at the very beginning of what would have been a multi-year project to launch CFDs," he said.

“At the same time, the company has been undergoing an organisational realignment around its customer facing product and sales organisations, and refocusing around key strategic initiatives such as the building of its own clearing infrastructure.

“Given these priorities, and the continuing unsettled market conditions in Europe, the company has decided not to move ahead on retail CFDs at this time.”

CFDs are tax-efficient spread betting products that enable the investor to cash settle on the price between two underlyers. They are popular among retail traders across Europe.

Although not allowed under SEC rules in the US, the total global market for CFDs is over $8bn. CFDs are primarilly traded on broker electronic broker platforms.

The innovative model would have enabled NYSE to offer trading in contracts outside products traded on Liffe’s derivatives markets.

FOW understands that the decision to pull the platform is not linked to the departure of chief executive Garry Jones. However, it comes at a time when the exchange is under pressure to regain the initiative after the collapse of the merger with Eurex in January.