Program trading activity jumped on the New York Stock Exchange
last week as overall volume also moved higher, according to the
latest data from the NYSE Euronext (NYX) unit.
For the week ended Feb. 3, average daily program trading volume
totaled 588.6 million shares, about 32% of the average daily total
volume. A week earlier, program trading volume totaled 475.1
million shares, making up roughly 29% of average daily volume.
For the latest week, average daily total volume totaled 1.83
billion shares, up from the prior week's 1.65 billion shares.
The most active NYSE member firm for program trading last week
was Morgan Stanley (MS), followed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
(GS).
Program trading encompasses a wide range of portfolio trading
strategies involving the purchase or sale of a basket of at least
15 stocks.
-By Mia Lamar, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3207;
mia.lamar@dowjones.com