Decreased volatility and weak volumes despite slight recovery

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Key findings for July – August:

• Primary markets have recovered some market share, not only due to the shutdown of NEURO, but also to lower volumes compared to the previous quarter. Volatility is down, and as a result, volumes were weak in July and August compared with previous months.

• The market share of Chi-X, BATS and Turquoise was stable.

• On UK stocks, the LSE appears to have recovered slightly, mainly due to new pricing.

• The Chi-X takeover drew a lot of attention, with BATS, Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse as potential bidders. This will reduce fragmentation, but will not stop it altogether.

• Future Trends: The European Commission continues to work on MiFID II and will hold a Public hearing on the "Review of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive" (MiFID) at the end of September. At present, only two changes are likely to be implemented: post-trade transparency and the creation of the future pan-European regulator ESMA. The latter would be given the authority for deciding how to implement needed changes in reaction to market micro-structure evolutions.