Knight says trading conditions 'grim'

[HenryTo]

No surprises here - individual investors just haven't been having much luck since the beginning of January:
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Knight says trading conditions 'grim'
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:25 PM ET May 13, 2005

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Knight Capital Group on Friday said average daily dollar value traded was $6.89 billion in April, down 16.7% from the year-ago period and 8.7% lower than March.

Average daily U.S. equity trading volume in April was 766,000, down 19.5% from 951,000 last year and off 9.2% from 844,000 in March.

Knight (NITE: news, chart, profile) said it's reducing its payment for order flow rates.

"We believe these changes will move us toward greater profitability despite the grim trading environment," Knight said. On Thursday, Knight changed its name from Knight Trading.

Shares finished unchanged at $7.86 Friday.

[shonari]

Knight is currently valued at less than the net cash on its balance sheet, an attractive takeover candidate. Many people don't know that it owns the hedge fund Deep Haven. Market making biz is given a negative value even though it continues to be profitable.