NEW YORK MarketWatch — Where have all the traders gone? These folks worry that lower trading volumes for U. There certainly are far fewer shares trading hands than a few years ago, as shown in this chart.

Average daily trading volume, tallied by month, was just 5. Financial pros point to other charts and statistics that shed light on the trend — and might even make you less fearful about the volume decline. Read on for five explanations.

Most Active Stocks - Most Active Share Volume

This type of trading, which relies on getting information and prices microseconds faster than the next trader, now accounts for More money is being invested in index funds, which only infrequently change the make-up of their holdings, rather than through active funds or brokers incentivized to buy and sell individual stocks frequently. This chart shows how much money is flooding into investment vehicles — index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds — that track stock indexes.

While trading in stocks has steadily declined, the opposite has happened with equity futures and options. Ryan Detrick, a technical analyst who writes at the trading website SeeItMarket.

Brokerage firms such as Charles Schwab Corp. Big investment banks have reduced their trading activity in anticipation of the so-called Volcker Rule, a section of the Dodd-Frank regulation that restricts banks from proprietary and speculative trading.

Once major players in the commodities, foreign exchange, fixed-income and equities markets, banks have pulled back to an extent.

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All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.

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Stock Volume Indicator: Unusual Stock Trading Volume - zuwywakybobu.web.fc2.com

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Economy Federal Reserve Capitol Report Economic Report Columns Darrell Delamaide Rex Nutting Tools Economic Calendar. My MarketWatch Watchlist Alerts Games Log In. New York Markets After Hours Market Snapshot Winners and Losers. Why trading volume is tumbling, explained in 5 charts. By Victor Reklaitis and Anora Mahmudova. The rise of index funds and fee-based advisers More money is being invested in index funds, which only infrequently change the make-up of their holdings, rather than through active funds or brokers incentivized to buy and sell individual stocks frequently.

Look beyond the stock market: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Big investment banks are trading less — in all asset classes Big investment banks have reduced their trading activity in anticipation of the so-called Volcker Rule, a section of the Dodd-Frank regulation that restricts banks from proprietary and speculative trading. MarketWatch Site Index Topics Help Feedback Newsroom Roster Media Archive Premium Products Mobile. Dow Jones Network WSJ. Dow Jones Industrial Average DJ-Index: TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.