Equity trading in Europe reached a 2012 peak last Friday, with just over €44 billion worth of stocks traded, according to data from multilateral trading facility (MTF) BATS Chi-X Europe.
On 7 September, €42.05 billion was traded across displayed markets, with a further €1.99 billion – or 4.52% – traded in dark MTFs. Average daily trading volume over the previous five days was €27.6 billion.
The largest single market was BATS Chi-X Europe’s CXE pan-European lit order book, which accounted for €8.03 billion – or 18.25% – of total trading, followed by the London Stock Exchange Group’s UK market, which traded €7.17 billion – or 16.28%.
The CXE dark pool – formerly known as Chi-Delta – crossed €445 million worth of equities, making it the largest non-displayed venue in Europe, with UBS MTF in second, trading €387.8 million.
Stock market activity has remained depressed throughout 2012, with August’s total of €580 billion marking a year low, according to data from Thomson Reuters. The busiest month for European equities so far this year was March, with €787.9 billion traded.
High volatility due to European and US debt concerns led to a surge of trading in August 2011, with volumes spiking at €1.14 trillion. A 2011 low of €568.4 billion was recorded last December.
In the US, equity trading reached US$204.7 billion on 7 September.
Last Thursday’s announcement of a bond buying scheme by the European Central Bank, a plan to ease the cost of borrowing for the Europe’s struggling economies, appeared to buoy markets, with major indices posting gains at the end of last week.