Trading Volume Falls at Knight
By Kristen French
Staff Reporter
06/14/2002 11:54 AM EDT
Beleaguered market maker Knight Trading (NITE:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) said its volume fell in May, in keeping with reports from other companies in the sector.
Knight said daily average U.S. equity trades dropped 3.2% vs. April and 16.2% vs. a year ago to 448,134 trades. The company's Nasdaq trades fell to 275,518 in May from 285,612 in April, while NYSE listed trades fell to 134,981 from 142,484, the company said.
Knight's average daily U.S. equity share volume rose for the month, however, up 1% vs. April and 26.2% vs. a year ago to 747 million shares traded.
"The market environment in May looked very similar to previous months, with lackluster trading volume and a downward bias," said Anthony M. Sanfilippo, executive vice president of Knight Trading Group, in a statement.
"Volatility has increased, but it's volatility based on discouraging developments for many companies across multiple industries. Although the market looks to be oversold, we do not see a catalyst on the horizon that would move investors back into the market. Beyond U.S. borders, we see the same poor market environment," he wrote. Meanwhile, June is so far looking very much like May, he said.
Trading activity reports have been down across the board in May, forcing some companies to lower their earnings guidance for the second quarter. Online brokerages Charles Schwab (SCH:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) and Ameritrade (AMTD:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) said they expect to miss their second-quarter targets Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Shares of Knight were down 2.5% to $4.23. |
