NYX Nyse Euronext

Program trading increased on the New York Stock Exchange last week even as overall activity fell, according to the subsidiary of NYSE Euronext (NYX).

Daily program trading volume in the week ended March 4 reached 685 million shares, or 30% of the daily average total of 2.28 billion. That compares with 665.6 million, or 27.2% of the average total of 2.45 billion shares, a week earlier.

The most active NYSE member firm for program trading last week was Morgan Stanley (MS), followed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN)--a frequent top-three lineup.

Program trading encompasses a wide range of portfolio-trading strategies involving the purchase or sales of a basket of at least 15 stocks.

-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com