by Stockwatch Business Reporter
Canada's alternative trading systems captured 32.5 per cent of trading volume during the week ended Feb. 8, 2013. Alpha Exchange handled 17 per cent of volume with an average of 125.7 million shares a day. Chi-X Canada handled 9.4 per cent with 69 million shares a day. Pure Trading came third with 1.6 per cent or 12 million shares a day. Dark pool Match Now followed close behind with 1.5 per cent or 11 million shares a day. Omega ATS handled 1.39 per cent with 10 million shares a day, and TMX Select handled 1.37 per cent, also with 10 million shares a day. The Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange were left with 67.5 per cent.
Of stocks listed only on the TSX, the exchange took 60.7 per cent of volume. Alpha had 19 per cent, Chi-X had 11.8 per cent, and the other ATSs handled the remaining 8.5 per cent.
The TMX Group released its year-end financial results last week. It earned $20.7-million on revenues of $294.5-million in 2012. Because of the Maple Group acquisition, the TMX says its numbers are incomparable to 2011, when it earned $237.5-million on revenues of $673.5-million. However, should one find himself wanting to compare year over year, he might consult the year-end management discussion and analysis. There, the TMX offers a possible comparable revenue number of $673-million, only $500,000 less than 2011. It does not do the same with profit. Other things were easier for the exchange to compare year over year, such as its professional market-data subscribers. The number of pros decreased slightly in 2012, to 151,000 from 160,000 in 2011.