NYX news

Trading on the NYSE (NYX) fell 26% this quarter to the lowest since 2001 as alternative venues captured market share and the total volume of U.S. equities climbed.

• The shares changing hands each day on the 216-year-old exchange fell to an average 1.27 billion in the second quarter from 1.57 billion a year ago, according to NYSE data compiled by Bloomberg.
• Total trading rose 19% from a year ago to an average of 6.84 billion shares a day, as companies such as Bats Trading Inc. and Direct Edge ECN LLC won more of the business, Bloomberg data show.
• "With hedge funds popping up and the ability to do things anonymously and cheaper and quicker, it definitely has an impact on the NYSE,'' said Michael Nasto, the senior trader at U.S. Global Investors Inc., which manages $6 billion in San Antonio. "There are different avenues to get things done.''
• The NYSE's share of the total value traded slipped to 52 percent in the first three months from more than 70 percent in 1990, according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges.
• The NYSE has overhauled its technology to execute trades faster, cut transaction costs and introduced new ways for investors to handle block trades as way to lure back business.
• "We are doing everything we can think of to try to reverse the trend,'' NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Officer Duncan Niederauer said May 15 at the annual shareholder meeting. "The bottom line is that it's very easy to get started and compete with us. The barriers to entry for someone to get a license and compete with us are lower than they have ever been.''

Competition is tight. I'm alarmed but have confidence in NYX and Duncan Niederauer. I plan to hold my position in NYX. We still have $180m in synergy ahead of us with Euronext, not to mention AMEX and taking over CME's metals complex. In the $50's I will likely add more to my position.