DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) said its volume of futures
contracts fell 5% in February, matching January's decline and
showing the year is off to a slow start for the futures exchange
operator after strong 2008 growth.
Exchanges around the globe have seen their share prices tumble
as five years of double-digit volume growth give way to an investor
focus on new product development such as clearing and listing
over-the-counter products.
ICE's shares were recently up 0.6% premarket at $53.10. The
stock is off about 36% so far this year.
The exchange operator said February volume fell to 19.4 million
as average daily volume totaled 980,786, down 1.3%. While the daily
average rose 4.3% in Europe, declines were 9.6% in the U.S. amid
tumbling agricultural-product trading. Sugar No. 11 options and
futures slumped 39% while other items such as cocoa and coffee
tumbled 57%. Picking up much of the slack was the growth of ICE's
Russell 2000 mini product. It rose 20% from January.
Meanwhile, ICE has been awaiting approval from government
regulators for a credit derivatives clearing platform with the
Clearing Corp., which it is acquiring, as it looks for a share of
what many believe will be a huge market as investors try to unload
the high-risk securities.
ICE also said in February that it would establish a
European-regulated central clearinghouse for the European CDS
market.
-By Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5089;
kerry.grace@dowjones.com