Weekly Highlights

• Marketwide spreads and post-trade quote instability were lower last week, with instability declining the most among smid-cap names. But despite these improving measures of trading cost, daily volumes and average trade sizes remained on the lower side of their range.

• The first full week of April saw some trend changes as well. Metals-related names outperformed with the rally in gold, while ‘quality’ factor names underperformed. The enthusiasm in these names helped anchor daily volumes and trade sizes, while interestingly the quality names did not seem to deteriorate in terms of trading frictions. Off-exchange FINRA volumes picked up market share in both groups, while quality names saw greater percent of trading in continuous trading vs the auctions from earlier in March.

• IntelligentCross subscribers achieved lower markouts and higher post-trade stability in these names out to 500ms on the platform vs exchanges, as we were close to 200bps average market share across both groups – showing we continue to add value in the names that are moving. Last week was also the best week of the year for daily match quantity of demi blocks and larger in ETFs, showing our ability to help subscribers trade thematically as market conditions change.

• If you haven't yet leveraged our platform to boost your trading outcomes, we encourage you to connect with us. Our displayed ASPEN quotes are available through our market data feed, IQX, which can be accessed directly or via providers such as Exegy, MayStreet, Redline, and ACTIV.