BATS Global Markets said that its average daily matched volume was 712.9 million shares in December, down 9.4 percent from the 787.7 million shares that changed hands in November.
This is also down from 796.4 million shares in October and 806.5 million shares in September.
Overall, that is a drop of 11.6 percent in the three-month period. However, compared to a year ago, volume is up 5.8 percent. In December 2011, the company’s two national exchanges traded 710.7 million shares.
The volume drop is the industry’s first indicator of a continuing drop in stock market activity. BATS typically is the first exchange opertor to report its monthly market share and volume figures.
But BATS’ market share remained near record levels. In December, the matched market share of its two national stock exchanges totaled 11.9 percent. That is down from 12.7 percent in November and 13.0 in October.
A year ago, BATS’ two exchanges had an 11.2 percent share of trading in equities in the United States.
BATS typically is the first exchange operator to report its monthly market share and volume figures.
In equities options, BATS Options saw its matched market share slip slightly to 3.5 percent in December from 3.6 percent in November. But that is still up from the 2.3 percent seen one year ago.Average daily matched volume drop to 538,725 from 561,574 in November but best the 535,288 level in October.
One year ago options volume was 345,788 contracts.
The BATS 1000 Index, a broad based U.S. equities market benchmark, ended the month up 141.69 points, or just 0.8 percent higher, closing at 16,044.99 vs 15,903.30 in November.
BATS operates two stock exchanges in the U.S., the BATS BZX Exchange and BATS BYX Exchange; as well as BATS Options, a U.S. equity options market; and BATS Europe and Chi-X Europe, which operate FSA-authorized multilateral trading facilities.
