Over-the-counter market drives surge in U.S. stock trades

Buying and selling of U.S. stocks surged during the past three months, and the increase signaled growing speculation. The shift was evident in the trading of shares that don’t have listings on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market. Over-the-counter trading of those stocks climbed about sixfold from Nov. 30 through Friday to about 85 billion a day, according to a 20-day moving average compiled by Bloomberg. Composite volume in Nasdaq-listed shares rose 65% on the same basis, while the comparable figure for NYSE stocks only advanced about 3%.