Tradeweb
Markets and MarketAxess posted record-breaking volumes in January, reflecting
heightened institutional activity across rates and credit markets.
Tradeweb
reported total trading volume of $65.5 trillion for the month, with average
daily volume reaching $3.1 trillion, up 26.2% year-over-year. Meanwhile,
MarketAxess logged record average daily volume of $18.6 billion in total
credit, a 28% jump from January 2025. The company’s rates business grew 19%
year-over-year, bringing total platform ADV to $47.7 billion, up 23%.
“In
January, we delivered 28% growth year-over-year in total credit on record ADV
of $18.6 billion, and 19% growth in total rates,” said Chris Concannon,
CEO of MarketAxess. “In credit, our emerging markets ADV increased 50% to
a record $5.5 billion, almost 30% above the previous monthly record set last
year.”
Credit Markets Lead Growth
Both
platforms saw particularly strong growth in credit markets. Tradeweb’s fully
electronic U.S. credit ADV rose 24.4% year-over-year to $9.4 billion, while
European credit jumped 44% to $3.5 billion. The company captured 17.5% market
share of fully electronic U.S. high-grade TRACE and 7.1% of high-yield TRACE.
MarketAxess
posted U.S. high-grade ADV of $8.4 billion, up 20% from the prior year. The
company’s emerging markets business stood out, with ADV climbing 50% to $5.5
billion, nearly 30% above the previous monthly record. Hard currency volumes
rose 28% while local markets surged 94%. BlackRock and
MarketAxess have deepened their collaboration to optimize global credit markets, which
may be contributing to the strong institutional flows.
Rates Trading Surges on
Policy Uncertainty
Government
trading picked up momentum as political tensions and shifting inflation
expectations drove positioning. Tradeweb’s U.S. government ADV increased 15.3%
to $267.7 billion, while European government volumes surged 36% to $79.4
billion.
Interest
rate derivatives showed the sharpest gains on Tradeweb’s platform. Swaps and
swaptions with maturities of one year or longer climbed 34.6% to $591 billion
in daily volume, while total rates derivatives ADV surged 51.1% to $1.2
trillion.
Tradeweb’s
mortgage trading hit an all-time high, with ADV up 16.7% to $310.1
billion. Tradeweb’s
year-end trading volume hit $63 trillion in December, showing the momentum has carried
into the new year.
New Protocols Gain Ground
MarketAxess
highlighted growth in newer execution methods. Block trading ADV jumped 56%
year-over-year, with U.S. credit block volumes up 35% and emerging markets
block trading doubling to $2.5 billion. Portfolio trading volumes more than
doubled, rising 126% to $2 billion in daily volume.
Dealer-initiated
activity increased 13% to $1.8 billion, with Mid-X trading volume hitting a
record $6.9 billion, up 383%. Tradeweb reported record European credit volumes
driven by increased adoption of its Automated Intelligent Execution tool.
Meanwhile, institutional
FX volumes eased in December after a three-month rally, but the fixed-income platforms showed
no signs of cooling as 2026 began. The January results suggest electronic
trading continues to capture share from traditional voice-based execution,
particularly in credit and emerging market products.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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