Europe stock trading volume surges as traders pull out

Madrid

TRADING in European stocks surged to the highest level since 2011, countering global trends and showing the extent to which investors betting on gains in the region got caught off guard when markets turned lower.

The number of shares tied to the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index that changed hands jumped to 3.7 billion a day on average in February, according to data compiled by Bloomberg through Feb 26. That compares with less than 2.9 billion from 2012 to 2015. The surge came as volume fell from Asia to the US, dropping 18 per cent in the MSCI All-Country World Index from January and 21 per cent from a year ago.