Online broker BinckBank (>> BINCKBANK) and spread betting company IG Group (>> IG Group Holdings plc) have defied falling volume on global markets by luring new investors to a growing choice of trading tools.

Amsterdam-based BinckBank has brought in more business at its private investor division by making more of its services such as asset management available online. It has also expanded abroad, entering Italy in 2012.

IG's spread-betting tools let small investors speculate on the future price of securities or baskets of securities. It has focused on improving its trading platforms and added a mobile app to boost access to its products.

The company is also developing foreign exchange products and piloting a cash equities business. It has focused on international growth and now operates in 16 countries.

BinckBank shares, which have risen almost 20 percent since April, were down 1.5 percent at 1527 GMT.

It reported adjusted net profit per share of 0.18 euro per share, above the range of 0.15 to 0.16 euro per share in a Reuters poll of four analysts, and up from 0.13 euro per share in the first quarter.

Analysts said it benefited from NASDAQ OMX Group's (>> NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.) acquisition of a 25 percent stake in the cash equity and equity derivatives trading venue TOM that BinckBank previously co-owned with ABN AMRO.

Adjusted for that acquisition, second-quarter results were in line with expectations.

"The market was already anticipating reassuring news on the underlying business. It really should have beaten (expectations on an adjusted basis) to have a really strong day," said Albert Ploegh, an analyst at ING in Amsterdam.

The potential impact of regulation, including the abolition of commission fees in the Netherlands from January 2014 and an EU financial transaction tax (FTT), also unnerved analysts.

BinckBank's Chief Executive Koen Beentjes said it was developing new products "that should to some extent compensate" for the loss of fee income, but could not give a forecast for the full year, citing uncertainty over the FTT, which has been scaled back drastically and its implementation delayed.

IG REVENUE FALLS

Shares in IG Group took a 2.7 percent knock and were among the top fallers on Britain's FTSE 250 .

The group, which runs the world's largest spread betting operation by revenue, reported a 1.4 percent drop in full year revenue, which was slightly ahead of expectations.

"It has already been a very strong performer and there wasn't too much in the figures that was surprising," said Espirito Santo analyst Phil Dobbin.

Like BinckBank, IG said it benefited from a recent surge in equity markets, which encouraged investors to step up trading. But with volumes still to recover fully in an uncertain economic climate, it promised to press on with investments to make its products more attractive to regular traders.

Chief Executive Tim Howkins said operating costs were likely to rise in the next year as the company continues to expand overseas, develop its technology and roll out the cash equities business among other initiatives aimed at making IG more attractive to regular traders.

Weaker trading volume sent first-half profits at Spanish stock market operator BME (>> Bolsas Y Mercados Espaneoles Socdad Hldg) down 2.7 percent, the company said on Tuesday, but its shares climbed 3.5 percent as second-quarter figures were better than expected.

The outperformance came at its clearing and settlement division, where revenue shot up 14 percent year on year.

BME's rival the London Stock Exchange (>> London Stock Exchange Group Plc) reported a 39 percent leap in first-quarter profit last week, owing in part to its acquisition of a clearing house, part of a strategy to diversify earnings and offset lower trading volume.

LSE competitors Deutsche Boerse AG (>> Deutsche Boerse AG) and NYSE Euronext (>> NYSE Euronext) are also looking for ways to secure future profits. Deutsche Boerse said last month it was seeking takeover opportunities.

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext are due to report first-half results on July 25 and July 30, respectively.

(Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

By Clare Hutchison