Average daily volume in the CMBS market in December is down versus November, according to data reported by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine or TRACE.
Credit Suisse analysts expect trading volume to remain that way, barring some major market event, over the next few weeks.
"Customer buys have slightly outpaced customer sells recently by a slight amount," Credit Suisse analysts said in a report. "We attribute the better buying to the recent new issue and if we adjust for that, it appears that Street positions may be marginally higher over the past few weeks. "
Despite the lighter activity, CMBS has generally outperformed the broader markets. Spreads at the very top of the capital stack are only around five basis points wider week over week, according to Credit Suisse analysts.
"The weakness has really only been seen in the wider-trading names, with more seasoned/better names unchanged," analysts said. "At the same time we see AMs unchanged to five basis points tighter while AJs have remained steady."
