Apple to IBM Push Buyback to Record Trading
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Companies buying their own stock make up more of the U.S. equity market than ever before, underpinning share values even as the Federal Reserve prepares to reduce stimulus.
Stock acquired under company repurchase programs represented 6.4 percent of daily trading in the Russell 3000 Index by value through Sept. 30, exceeding 2007’s level of 4.1 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Birinyi Associates Inc. The proportion of trading is higher even as chief executive officers spend $343 billion less on buybacks so far this year, reflecting a seven-year decline in equity volume.