Corporate bond trading at MarketAxess reaches record high

Open Trading platform continues to gain traction globally as average daily volume grew 56% in the first quarter.

Trading on the all-to-all market for corporate bonds at MarketAxess grew to record highs in the first three months this year, with a 56% growth in average daily volume year-on-year.

The number of transactions completed in the first quarter this year on the Open Trading platform reached 145,000, up from 82,000 in the same period last year.

Price responses more than doubled with the number of firms providing liquidity up from 572 in the first quarter in 2016 to 672.

CEO at MarketAxess, Rick McVey, explained the adoption of Open Trading has continued to accelerate globally as clients are becoming increasingly reliant on “technology solutions to access new trading connections and expanded liquidity options."

Revenues in the first quarter across the company increased 17% to $104 million, compared to $89 million last year.

“High-grade and emerging-market volumes performed particularly well despite a challenging market environment that saw record new issuance and unusually low market volatility,” McVey added.

Total trading volume surged 27% in the first three months this year to a record $394 billion. 

«