Online Brokers' Trading Volume Up 25-50% in Jan., Analyst Says
Anil:
Here is an interesting article i just saw at Bloomberg.
==================
San Francisco, California, Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Online
brokers' customer trading volume in January rose 25 to 50 percent
from the record levels of the fourth quarter of 1998, according
to a Credit Suisse First Boston report.
The securities firm tracks 53 Internet and electronic
commerce stocks that are among the most heavily traded by
investors using the Web to trade stocks. Volume in those stocks
rose 22.4 percent in January, and a ''spot checks with industry
sources'' show online brokers saw an even bigger increase in
trading volume from the fourth quarter, CSFB analyst Bill Burnham
wrote in a research note sent to clients this morning..
''A lot can happen between now and the end of March, but
barring a drastic market slowdown, we'll likely raise'' quarterly
earnings estimates for E*Trade Group Inc. and Ameritrade Holding
Corp. by the end of the February, Burnham said. ''To a certain
extent this is already reflected in the stocks, but since this is
a retail catalyst-based market, news of these strong volumes may
run these stocks even further, as hard as that may seem.''
Shares of E*Trade and Ameritrade hit records yesterday, each
rising more than 17 percent, as E*Trade completed a 2-for-1 stock
split and as Ameritrade neared its own this coming Friday.
Customer volume at online brokers rose 34 percent in the
fourth quarter from the third as investors snapped up Internet
stocks like Yahoo! Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
|
