The U.S. options market is on a tear of sorts – as volume moved higher again in October.
As BATS and MIAX continue to gain market share, TABB Group reported in its latest Options Liquidity Matrix that October U.S. listed options trading gained 2.1 percent from Septembers totals to hit 362.1 million contracts in October 2015.
However, this is 26% lower than volume from the year-ago October.
Through October, 2015 year-to-date volume is 3.7% below 2014 same-period totals.
According to TABB, volume increased in October over the prior month as the S&P 500 surged 8.3%, boosted by a recovery in commodity stocks and a commitment from the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged. However, trading for the month plunged year-over-year as last months volume fell short of October 2014, one of the highest months for options volume on record.
The CBOE VIX Index slid 38% in October.
As volumes trend lower in 2015 compared to last year, BATS and MIAX options exchanges have continued to gain ground on other venues. Both exchanges have doubled their market shares in 2015, with BATS market share growing to 9.7% year-to-date from 4.5% in the same period last year and MIAXs increasing to 6% from 3% in a comparable period last year.
