NZX trading slump in October

Photo / Kenny Rodger

Trading volumes and value slumped on the NZX debt and equities trading platforms last month, compared to volumes for the same month a year ago.

Operational statistics for October show a 21 per cent drop in total trades to 42,230 and a 10.3 per cent fall in the value of daily trading to $102 million, although this was up 4 per cent from the September 2010 average.

The total value traded was $2 billion, a 14.5 per cent decline, during a month marked by a string of negative economic indicators, which cast a cautionary pall over business sentiment.

The NZX 50 Index is 2.8 per cent higher than it was in October 2009, and the NZX 10 is up 10 per cent, while total market capitalisation, including the NZAX alternative market, was up 1.1 per cent to $55.4 billion, equivalent to 28.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

The exchange said in its announcement that there had been trading of 25 "lots" on the newly launched dairy derivatives platform, though it is not yet formally reporting trading volumes as a monthly metric.