--CME daily trading volume up 1% from year ago
--ICE daily trading volume down 15% from November
--ICE daily trading volume up 0.7% from year ago
(Updated to include full-year 2012 figures from
IntercontinentalExchange, CME Group and Deutsche Boerse.)
By Jacob Bunge
Business at IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) soared in 2012,
even as larger futures markets grappled with a slump in
trading.
Brisk energy-market investing helped Atlanta-based ICE retain
its reputation as the fastest-growing futures exchange--topping
rivals including ICE's takeover target, NYSE Euronext (NYX),
according to figures released Thursday.
ICE reported a 9.7% rise in futures and options trading activity
over the last year, a record for the Atlanta-based market operator.
About 3.4 million contracts changed hands per day on its markets
last year, the company said.
Growth at ICE, which has focused on energy and agricultural
futures, came as competitor exchanges focused on financial
derivatives, including CME Group Inc. (CME) and Deutsche Boerse AG
(DB1.XE, DBOEF), suffered from stagnant interest rates and investor
avoidance of stock investing.
Chicago-based CME Group remained the world's largest futures
exchange company in terms of trading activity but recorded a 15%
drop in trading from 2011's total, according to figures released
Thursday. Futures turnover at German exchange group Deutsche
Boerse, the leader in European financial futures, fell 18.8%.
The downturn was steeper at NYSE Euronext's London-based
derivatives market known as Liffe, where trading last year fell
21.3% from 2011's total, according to estimates from Sandler
O'Neill + Partners. NYSE Euronext is due to release final trading
data later this month.
Analysts see ICE's planned $8.2 billion acquisition of NYSE
Euronext arriving as trading in the company's signature European
interest-rate contracts remains challenged by economic turmoil
facing the region. European policymakers have responded by holding
down key rates to encourage lending, giving investors less need to
use futures to bet on changes in borrowing costs.
"ICE is buying NYSE at an opportune time," said Richard Repetto,
analyst with Sandler O'Neill.
Shares in ICE, however, lagged those of some rivals over the
past year, reflecting heightened expectations of the fast-growing
upstart. ICE stock has gained 6.8% over the last 12 months,
according to FactSet, compared with a 10% increase for Deutsche
Boerse and a 10.7% rise for Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.
(0388.HK), which last year bested ICE in a battle for the London
Metal Exchange. CME shares gained 4.4% over the period.
Brazil's BM&FBovespa SA (BVMF3.BR) boasted the
biggest-gaining stock among the major exchange companies, rising
42.1% over the past year. The company benefited from investment
flowing into the country and BM&F's near-monopoly over trading
in Brazilian stocks and derivatives.
--Melodie Warner contributed to this article.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
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