Nasdaq Volume Drops 53%
September 7, 2012
Nasdaq OMX Group said it handled 25.5 billion shares worth of trading in August of this year, down 53.2% from 54.6 billion a year ago.
The drop was large, but not unusual. BATS Global Markets reported trading on its two U.S. exchanges dropped 46.8% in August, compared to a year ago.
The comparisons are against the most active month of trading in 2011, across all exchanges.
Volume down 53%? Sign of the times.
At the start of August 2011, Standard & Poor’s downgraded U.S. debt for the first time, roiling markets.
Average daily volume on all national exchanges was 7.6 billion shares, according to statistics kept by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. Volume in July 2011 had been 5.0 billion and volume in September fell back to 6.1 billion shares.
Nasdaq OMX Group operates the Nasdaq Stock Market as well as the Nasdaq OMX BX, which provides a rebate for removing liquidity, and Nasdaq OMX PSX, which uses a pro rata scheme to reward the largest orders placed on its exchange.
In Canada, TMX Group said volume on the Toronto Stock Exchange in August was down 42%, compared to a year earlier.
