(Adds ICE data.)
CME Group Inc. (CME) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE)
said their daily trading volume rose sharply from a year earlier in
November, continuing a trend of growth.
Exchange operators have seen traders come back to the markets in
recent quarters after the financial crisis drove banks and hedge
funds to scale back their investing activity.
In November, CME's daily volume rose 31% from a year earlier and
24% from the prior month, an average of 14.2 million contracts,
with 83% of the month's total of 297 million being traded
electronically. It's the highest average daily volume since
September 2008--when the financial crisis was cresting--except for
May of this year, which was boosted by that month's "flash
crash."
The world's biggest futures exchange operator said interest-rate
futures volume--its biggest product in terms of contract
volume--rose 46% from a year earlier to 7 million contracts a
day.
Energy contract volume rose 6.1%, foreign-exchange contracts
volume climbed 23% and metals contracts' volume increased 34%.
Equity-index volume rose 15%.
Meanwhile, ICE said its daily average volume increased 26% to
1.4 million contracts last month from a year earlier, and the
figure rose 3.1% from October. Its biggest product, Brent crude
futures and options, saw volume jump 25%. Gasoil futures and
options climbed 37% while sugar futures and options surged 71%.
Shares of CME and ICE closed Wednesday at $300.04 and $115.62,
respectively, and were inactive premarket. The stocks have fallen
11% and risen 3%, respectively, this year.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855;
nathan.becker@dowjones.com