OptionsXpress Trading Sped Up Last Month

OptionsXpress brokered 34,500 trades a day in February, a 3 percent increase from February. Trading volume slipped 16 percent versus January because futures markets settled down a little after a tumultuous fourth quarter.

OptionsXpress runs an online brokerage enabling clients to trade options and futures, which are contracts deriving their value from an underlying commodity or event. Trading volume tends to accelerate when markets undergo turbulence because people want to shelter their investments from unexpected swings in the market.

The brokerage added 4,600 accounts in February, bringing the total to 271,900. The brokerage's accounts held $5.5 billion at the end of February, an 11 percent increase from February 2007 and a 1 percent increase from January.

Despite a decline in overall trading from the peak late last year, OptionsXpress said trading of futures contracts is still strong. More customers "took advantage of heightened interest in the commodities markets," Chief Executive David Fisher said in a statement.