(Bloomberg) — IntercontinentalExchange Group Inc.s U.S. stock markets were pushed out of first place yesterday by Bats Global Markets Inc. and Direct Edge Holdings Inc., two exchange operators in the process of merging.
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The three ICE venues including the New York Stock Exchange handled 21.8 percent of U.S. trading volume yesterday, trailing the 21.9 percent routed to the four exchanges that Bats and Direct Edge own, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its the third time the NYSE markets lost since Bats and Direct Edge agreed to merge in August, the data show.
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While the NYSE is the worlds biggest exchange by the market capitalization of the companies it lists, its dominance over U.S. trading was reduced by more than a decade of technological and regulatory change. American equity transactions are now spread across more than 50 markets instead of being concentrated in a handful of liquidity pools. ICE Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sprecher, who acquired the NYSE venues last month, has argued that securities markets are in need of fundamental changes.
Bats and Direct Edge started trading in the middle of the last decade, helping dismantle the duopoly enjoyed by the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market. Since their deal was announced on Aug. 26, Bats and Direct Edge have on average handled 1.7 percentage points less of daily U.S. trading than the NYSE markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Bats-Direct Edge union should be completed in the first quarter, Direct Edge CEO Bill OBrien said in a Twitter message this month. The companies plan to keep all four of their exchanges open.
