- Solid trading: Average monthly trading volumes reach last year’s level
- Equity trading volume in June 2016 up 8.5% versus June 2015
- Brexit vote prompts higher volatility near end of second quarter
- Vienna Stock Exchange systems handle almost 18 million price movements at peak times
(Vienna) The first half-year of 2016 on the Vienna Stock Exchange was an eventful one. After the increase in trading volumes in the first three months of the year, in April and May prices declined again. The Vienna Stock Exchange was unable to avoid European trends. Already in June equity trading had caught up with the first quarter of 2016, reaching EUR 5.94 billion. The Austrian leading index, the ATX, dropped in the first half of the year by 12.56% (-10.71% incl. dividends) along with other Western European indices (DAX: - 9.89%, Eurostoxx – - 12.33%). The Brexit vote triggered volatility around the end of the second quarter, and as expected, trading volumes were also high on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
Peak trading figures in the systems of the Vienna Stock Exchange
In the first half-year of 2016, the XETRA® trading system of the Vienna Stock Exchange recorded a daily average trading volume of 2.7 million transactions (1HY 2015: 2.21 million). On 24 June 2016, the day on which the trading and information systems of the Vienna Stock Exchange saw an unexpectedly high level of transactions due to the outcome of the BREXIT vote, the threshold of four million incoming transactions was surpassed for the first time since 2011. As an IT service provider, the Vienna Stock Exchange also processes the price data of 12 stock exchanges from the region for its market data feed. In the first half of 2016, over 9.5 million transactions were processed daily, and on 24 June, the peak value reached almost 18 million transactions. At the end of June the new website of the Vienna Stock Exchange went online. Its responsive design provides full access to content for mobile devices.
Ludwig Nießen, member of the management board responsible for the technical and operational running of the stock exchange, is satisfied with the performance of the system landscape: "The Vienna Stock Exchange has over 25 years of experience in operating state-of-the-art trading infrastructure. We know the needs of our domestic and international trading members and information providers. This has been proven true, above all, in peak phases such as the day after the Brexit vote. The trading system and our downstream information systems are excellently equipped to deal with very high volumes of transactions."
Liquidity bottoms out
In the first half of the year 2016, the Vienna Stock Exchange recorded a total volume of EUR 29.17 billion in equity trading. This corresponds to a slight decline of 4.7% versus the same period of the previous year (Jan-Jan 2015: EUR 30.60 billion). The average monthly trading volume of EUR 4.86 billion is currently around the previous year's level (EUR 4.87 billion). Declining equity trading volumes are a European phenomenon at present. Equity trading volumes on the London Stock Exchange dropped by 11.7%, on Deutsche Börse by 12.4% and on the Warsaw Stock Exchange by 22.1% (January to May 2016 vs. 2015).
Performance
Since the start of the year, Lenzing AG stocks have risen 19.43%, making it the biggest gainer in the ATX, followed by Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG with a gain of 7.80% and Verbund AG with 7.17%. On the prime market, the non-ATX frontrunners were STRABAG SE (+ 14.95%) and Flughafen AG (+ 11.21%). The market capitalization of domestic companies listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange totalled EUR 78.28 billion on 30 June 2016.
In the course of the first half-year, Austria’s leading index, the ATX, declined by 12.56% (-10.71% incl. dividends) and stood at 2,095.96 points on 30 June 2016. Around the start of the year, the ATX hit an all-year high on 5 January 2016 at 2,362.73 points. If the falling price of oil was an argument for previous higher prices, this effect was reversed in the first few weeks of 2016. The declining oil price has created insecurity throughout Europe and the Vienna Stock Exchange was unable to avoid getting pulled in. The all-year low of the ATX was 1,957.05 points on 11 February 2016. The rising oil price at the end of February and a further easing of monetary policy by the ECB helped the Austrian leading index to regain some ground until the Brexit vote caused a setback and prices dropped again at the end of June.
About the Vienna Stock Exchange
The Vienna Stock Exchange is the only securities exchange in Austria. It features a modern infrastructure and supplies market data and relevant information. This guarantees the smooth and efficient execution of stock exchange trades and enables it to serve as an intermediary for all market participants. Wiener Börse AG also operates the Austrian power exchange EXAA and the CEGH Gas Exchange of the Vienna Stock Exchange. Wiener Börse AG together with its Holding Company, CEESEG, cooperates with 12 exchanges in Central and Eastern Europe and is globally recognized for its unique CEE know-how.
