Stock Trading Slowdown Is Steepest in Two Decades

Stock trading in the U.S. hasn’t slowed this much midyear in at least two decades, causing some investors to worry that the steepest Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rally since the 1930s will fizzle.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows 84 percent as many shares changed hands daily on the New York Stock Exchange between May 1 and July 20, compared with the average from Jan. 1 to April 30. That’s the steepest slowdown since at least 1989, according to data compiled by Harrison, New York-based research firm Bespoke Investment Group LLC.

Trading on the NYSE was the slowest of the year on June 12 as the S&P 500 climbed to a seven-month high. The benchmark index for U.S. stocks then dropped 7.1 percent through July 10, when investor optimism on the equity market fell to the lowest level since March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P 500 is up 44 percent since March 9. (more)