Blizzard Puts Freeze on NYSE Trading Volume

Slammed by a major snow storm that left some areas with more than two feet of snow, Wall Street trading volume took a tumble on Monday.

According to Dow Jones Market Data, New York Stock Exchange composite volume totaled just 2.61 billion -- the lowest full-day total since December 31, 2009. That represents a 46% decline from 2010's average volume of more than 4.8 billion and a 41.5% slide from December's average daily volume of nearly 4.5 billion.

While November 26 saw lighter trading volume than Monday, that session was just a half day due to it being the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday.

Trading was already expected to be slow on Monday as the session was sandwiched between the Christmas and New Year's holidays and many traders take vacation time.

Despite the slow trading volumes, Wall Street managed to dig out of an early 50-point decline on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and end the day with mini gains on the Standard & Poor's 500.

Shareholders of NYSE operator NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) took the news in stride, bidding the company's stock up 1.35% to $30.09. The stock was off just 0.07% to $30.07 in extended trading Monday evening.