Kabu’s December Volumes Plunge off of Yearly Highs

Kabu.com, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFJ), has reported its preliminary results for its trading volumes and metrics for December 2017. The latest figures corroborate an industry-wide trend in December, which saw retail volumes firmly in the red amongst Japanese and global brokerages.

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Volatility was much lower in December due to a seasonal lull in the Western world. This helped cap volumes and dilute market activity to levels not seen since the summer in many instances. Kabu.com’s latest figures encompass both futures and options, which also incurred a retreat that threatened 2017 lows.

During December 2017, Kabu's futures and options trading volumes came in at ¥70.0 billion ($632.1 million), a fall of 37.5 percent month-over-month from ¥112.0 billion ($1.01 billion) in November 2017. The reading is Kabu’s lowest since September 2017. It previously having managed to rebound strongly to a yearly high in November.

H2 2017 was largely characterized by pockets of volatility and oscillating trading volumes. Kabu’s volumes reflected this back and forth trend, with the group’s futures and options volume being a good indicator of this. Looking ahead to January, retail volumes will look to get back on track as the market resumes in full force with holidays in the rear-view mirror.