Euronext's December Cash Order Book Pointed Lower

Euronext, one of Europe’s largest exchanges, has reported its final year-end volumes filing of the 2017 calendar year. The group has largely experienced mixed figures during the year, with droughts of Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term helping cap volumes. Euronext saw its turnover pointed lower in December however, as a seasonal trading lull set in across the institutional space.

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December was characterized by a lightened trading schedule due to the observance of multiple holidays in the Western world. Big money managed to stay out of the markets that were also devoid of any major moves. Outside of US equity markets, most other institutional exchanges saw consolidating volumes in December 2017.

During December 2017, Euronext’s average daily cash orders came in at $9.4 billion (€7.8 billion), falling by a factor of 4.3 percent month-over-month from $9.8 billion (€8.1 billion) in November 2017. This reading was however higher over a yearly timeframe, rising by approximately 7.5 percent year-over-year from December 2016.

Euronext’s cash order book has been a mixed bag in 2017 – during Q4, its figures have been consolidating after a breakout this past fall. Despite seeing its monthly volumes retreat, Euronext did record a new record high in 2017 on December 15, with $22.4 billion (€18.5 billion) following an announcement from the European Central Bank.

Looking at a yearly snapshot at Euronext’s cash order book, the group saw its average daily transaction value rise in 2017, which stood at $9.0 billion (€7.5 billion), up 6.7 percent relative to 2016.

In terms of other segments at Euronext, the group’s Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term-traded-funds (ETFs) faired much better during December 2017. This segment climbed to $685.8 million (€568.0 million) in December 2017, vs. $580.8 million (€481.0 million) just one month ago, or 18.1 percent higher month-over-month. Relative to 2016 however, the latest reading is 5.6 percent lower year-over-year compared with December 2016.

Euronext’s average daily volume on derivatives reached only 534,949 contracts in December 2017. This correlated to a 14.9 percent decline month-over-month from 629,767 contracts in November 2017. This segment did best its 2016 counterpart by 12.3 percent on a year-over-year basis however, signaling higher derivatives volumes overall during the year.

Equity index derivatives consolidated in December 2017 with a reading of 213,505 contracts. The latest figures were largely unchanged from 219,503 contracts in November 2017, or 2.7 percent month-over-month.

Finally, the average daily volume of spot FX trading of majority-owned FastMatch came in at $18.8 billion ($15.6 billion) in December 2017. This related to a decline of 12.3 percent month-over-month from $21.5 billion ($17.8 billion) in November 2017.

This decline was seen across several other institutional exchanges, with the flat performance being attributed to a somewhat tighter range trading that has set over major FX markets over the past couple of months.