To Every Stock, Turn, Turn, Turn
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The turnover rate (share volume on the NYSE divided by the average of shares listed) has been considered a harbinger of investor activity and confidence for decades. For instance, the turnover rate collapsed from 119 percent in 1929 to 67 percent in 1930 after the crash — and hit an all-time low of 9 percent in 1942.
More recently, Black Monday in 1987 sent the turnover rate tumbling from 73 percent that year to 18 percent the next year.
In recent years, the numbers have gone the opposite direction, however; as the tech bubble burst, trading has gone not down…but up.
| Year | Share Volume (Millions) | Average Shares Listed | Turnover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 352,397.8 | 354,784.1 | 99% |
| 2002 | 363,135.9 | 345,708.6 | 105 |
| 2001 | 307,509.3 | 327,723.0 | 94 |
| 2000 | 262,477.7 | 297,433.1 | 88 |
| 1999 | 203,914.2 | 260,115.9 | 78 |
| 1998 | 169,744.6 | 223,195.5 | 76 |
| 1997 | 133,312.1 | 192,016.6 | 69 |
| 1996 | 104,636.2 | 165,831.8 | 63 |
| 1995 | 87,217.5 | 148,499.8 | 59 |
| 1994 | 73,420.4 | 136,667.0 | 54 |
