May 7 (Reuters) - Bond trading platform MarketAxess

Holdings ( MKTX ) beat estimates for first-quarter profit on

Tuesday, helped by record activity in total credit and

Eurobonds.

MarketAxess' ( MKTX ) credit segment includes bonds which are

high-grade, high-yield and municipal-issued, among others.

High-grade or investment-grade bonds typically have a lower

risk of default and smaller returns compared with high-yield or

junk bonds.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Expectations of interest-rate cuts changed rapidly during

the first quarter and induced significant volatility in the

global bond markets.

The trajectory of potential rate cuts in the U.S., euro zone

and emerging markets continues to remain cloudy as central banks

weigh whether inflation has declined meaningfully and underlying

price pressures have slowed.

Meanwhile, higher interest rates have also raised the demand

for safe-haven bonds across Treasury and corporate segments as

they offer investors steady risk-free returns.

CONTEXT

MarketAxess ( MKTX ) operates an electronic trading platform allowing

institutional investors and broker-dealer firms to trade

corporate bonds and other fixed-income securities.

Exchange operators typically do better when the markets are

volatile as investors rejig portfolios more actively to cut

risk, helping drum up trading volume.

BY THE NUMBERS

MarketAxess' ( MKTX ) net income of $1.92 per share in the three

months ended March 31 beat analysts' estimates of $1.87 per

share, according to LSEG data.

Revenue in the first quarter rose to $210 million, compared

with $203 million in the year-ago quarter.

It posted record quarterly total credit average daily volume

(ADV) of $15 billion, up 9.2% from a year earlier.

MarketAxess's ( MKTX ) Eurobonds ADV increased 10.6% to a record $2

billion and emerging markets ADV of $3.6 billion climbed 17.3%

in the first quarter.