Market Metrics That Matter: European Equities August Volume Briefing

September 16, 2026

Welcome to the August edition of Market Metrics That Matter, your monthly briefing on European cash equities trends.

Don’t forget to visit Cboe Europe’s Market Share page for leading insights into European equity trading activity.

August 2026 Highlights

Total addressable activity (on- and off-exchange) stood at €70.6bn, versus €80bn in July, up 16% on August 2025.
Total on-exchange average daily value traded (ADVT) reached €49.9bn, down 13% on July, up 16% year-on-year and the highest August on record.
Activity shifted away from continuous trading and into Closing Auctions following the MSCI rebalance, which increased to 27.2% of on-exchange activity versus 24.3% in July. Central Limit Order Books fell to 51.4% of on-exchange activity (from 52.8% in July); Periodic Auctions dropped to 9.6% (from 10.4%); and non-displayed order books dropped to 10.2% (from 10.9%).
Systematic Internaliser (SI) activity contracted slightly but continued its year-on-year growth trend. Addressable SI ADVT came in at €12.8bn (vs €14.3bn in July), representing 18.1% of total addressable volume, compared with 17.8% in July, and up from 15.3% in August 2025.
Copenhagen-listed securities showed the strongest month-on-month gain in market share of the total market (+0.7%), while Frankfurt saw the largest decline (-1pp).

Cboe Europe's overall market share was 22.6%, reflecting elevated activity in primary exchange closing auctions following the MSCI index rebalance, a segment in which Cboe does not compete.
Cboe BIDS Europe, Cboe's block trading platform, retained the leading position in the block market for a 53rd consecutive month, achieving ADVT of €484.4 million and an above-LIS market share of 35%, its highest level in 39 months.
Cboe ranked number one venue in both below-LIS non-displayed trading and periodic auctions, with market shares of 40.4% and 74%, respectively.
Cboe initiated the expansion of its symbol coverage to include EU-based growth market stocks, following the addition of UK AIM securities last year. The move will bring Cboe's full range of pan-European trading and reporting solutions to this segment, helping increase visibility, supporting greater liquidity and price discovery and giving institutional and retail investors more way to trade these stocks.