NYSE Market Share Erosin

The Washington Post reports:

The New York Stock Exchange, once the clear master of its own domain, is fighting a high- stakes battle to curtail a steady loss of market share to electronic rivals trading the Big Board's own listed stocks.

Barely 20 years ago, traders barking orders to one another on the NYSE floor accounted for close to 90 of every 100 shares changing hands. Now, nearly 30 percent of listed-issue volume is handled by rival operators, such as Nasdaq.


And the erosion is far from over, some industry experts believe. Some analysts see the market share of rivals rising to 35 percent before midyear, when the NYSE rolls out its counterpunch -- the so-called "hybrid" market model combining electronic trading with traditional open outcry.

As more trading moves to cyberspace what's the purpose of the trading floor in the old central city.