Knight Capital trading volume up sharply in May (AP)
Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:25:14 Etc/GM
Knight said average daily U.S. equity trading volume last month was about 4.26 million, compared with 1.9 million in May of 2008. But last month's figure was down 3.2 percent from the April 2009 volume of nearly 4.4 million, when a market rally boosted trading activity.
The average daily value for trades Knight Capital executed in May was nearly $23.7 billion, up 32 percent from $17.9 billion in May 2008. Last month's average daily value was up 1.8 percent from $23.3 billion in April 2009.
"Outside of the financial, energy and health care sectors, which led the major market indexes in May, stocks settled into a tight trading range," said Thomas M. Joyce, Knight's chairman and chief executive. "The decreased market valuations year-over-year and heightened activity in low-priced stocks depressed dollar volumes.
"At Knight, despite the jump in average daily share volume from April, we did not witness a corresponding rise in dollar value traded."
There was one less trading day in May 2009 than in April and May 2008.
Knight Capital shares fell 25 cents, or about 1.4 percent, to $17.21 in midday trading.
source: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090612/us_knight_capital_volume.html?.v=1