SBI Japannext, a proprietary trading system (PTS) for Japanese equities, overtook the Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE) for equity trading last month for the first time, as trading on alternative venues in the country continues to rise.
The PTS traded 3.99% of Japanese equities, according to data from Thomson Reuters, ahead of the derivatives-focused OSE, which finished August on 3.56%. Fellow PTS Chi-X Japan traded 1.83% of the Japanese market last month. The environment is set to become more challenging for PTSs after the OSE completes its merger with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, currently slated for Q1 2013.
Overall trading in Japanese stocks grew slightly month-on-month to US$288 million from US$280 billion in June, but was lower than the extraordinary total of US$442 billion recorded in August 2011, when a global debt crisis led to a surge in trading activity.
Unlike markets in the US and Europe, which suffered steep declines in trading in August, some Asian exchanges have gained volume since July.
Trading in Hong Kong equities grew to US$31 billion in August from US$25.6 billion in July, while in Australia, the value of trading grew to US$84.4 billion from US$72.4 billion during the same period. Chi-X Australia, the only competitor to the Australian Securities Exchange, garnered a 2.51% share of equity trading in August, down slightly on the 2.56% traded the previous month.
Trading remained relatively flat in India at US$44.2 billion last month, while in Singapore, volumes dropped to US$14.48 billion, from US$15.6 billion in July. China, the region’s largest market, traded US$404 billion in August, down from the US$422 billion recorded in July.