European equity market volumes fell sharply in November but remain higher than last year, signaling increased overall activity in the region’s equity markets throughout 2013.
Deutsche Börse’s Xetra marketplace and the London Stock Exchange both saw market share gains while Southern European exchanges in Italy and Spain saw their share fall back after a strong October.
According to figures from Thomson Reuters Equity Market Share Reporter, trading volumes across both lit and dark books dropped to €680 billion last month, down 13.9% from €789.5 billion in October. Trading was also down on September 2013, when a total of €716.5 billion was traded in Europe.
However, the figure is 12.6% higher than the €603.7 billion traded during November 2012 and reflects a seasonal trend of lower activity in both November and December.
Deutsche Börse’s main market, Xetra, saw its market share climb to 12.11% across auctions, lit and dark books, up from 11.36% in October.
The London Stock Exchange also saw improved market share, increasing from 10.86% in October to 11.44% in November.
However both exchanges saw the actual volume of trading fall due to lower overall trading volume.
Market leader BATS Chi-X Europe saw a minor increase in market share, with total trading across its two order books growing from 21.78% to 21.88% last month.
Southern European markets were less fortunate and after a major spurt in activity in Italy during October, which saw the national exchange account for 8.49% of European trading, market share fell significantly to 7.03%.
Spain’s Mercado Continuo also fell back, dropping to 5.22% of the European market compared to 5.69% in October.
December is usually a particularly quiet trading period and market volume is expected to fall further next year. However, 2013 as a whole looks set to beat a lackluster 2012.