Core Insights - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) restored most trading operations after a significant outage caused by a data center issue, affecting multiple financial markets across Asia and Europe [1][5] - The outage lasted approximately ten hours, leading to frustration among market participants who were unable to trade key contracts, including those tracking the S&P 500 Index [3][4] - The incident highlights the concentration of futures markets, as there are limited alternative venues for major products [7] Trading Operations - CME's Globex Futures & Options markets, which account for 90% of CME Group's volume, reopened at 8:30 a.m. New York time, but trading volume remained light [1] - CME Direct, a platform for trading some markets, was still unavailable shortly before the exchange announced that all markets were open [2] Technical Issues - The outage was caused by a cooling system malfunction at a data center operated by CyrusOne, which is backed by KKR & Co. and BlackRock Inc.'s Global Infrastructure Partners [5] - The disruption was notably longer than a similar technical error in 2019, emphasizing the importance of CME Group's electronic trading platform [4] Market Impact - The halt in trading significantly affected various markets, including US Treasury futures, gold, and crude oil, with erratic movements observed during the London trading hours [6] - The incident underscores the interconnectedness of global financial markets and the reliance on CME for trading major derivatives [6]