Warming from flat numbers month-over-month in June, EquiLend NGT observed an increase of 9%, with 3,476,710 trades v. $3.73T (+23% year-over-year). Equities (+7% month-over-month) and Fixed Income (+16% month-over-month) were both in demand as U.S. indices hit new highs on the back of strong corporate earnings, while uncertainty around tariff policy, weak jobs data and inflationary concerns led to elevated volatility towards the end of the month.

U.S. equity valuations, driven by strong Q2 corporate earnings combined with investor optimism around the EU/U.S. trade deal, created opportunities for bets to the downside late in the month –  volatility continued to increase based on weak jobs data, tariff policy elsewhere and concerns around U.S. interest rate policy as inflation remains persistent. Specials activity accelerated as well, with Information Technology and specifically AI names showing strong demand. APAC saw a slight softening of demand in July (-2% month-over-month) as Hong Kong (-4%) and Taiwan (-19%) were down in the face of ongoing China/U.S. trade tensions and currency volatility created some economic uncertainty.