On what was otherwise a very slow Wednesday for the equity markets due (mainly) to the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur, Knight Capital saw more than double the usual trading volume in its own shares, which sent KCG shares up by 9%.
The company had not made any announcements, leading several market observers to ask “what does someone else know that we don’t.” We recently wrote that Knight Capital’s Forex ECN unit Hotspot FX was unlikely to be sold, as Knight Capital continues to recover from the early August “trading glitch” which nearly put the company into bankruptcy. However, it is entirely possible that a suitor may emerge to buy the entire company, which remains a key player not just in the Forex market but also in equity market making.
For more on the global FX market see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.