Activity also picked up in some crypto derivatives.
“Dogecoin is surging because many cryptocurrency traders do not want to miss out on any buzz that stems from Elon Musk’s hosting of Saturday Night Live,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.
In Europe, Deutsche Börse said cash trading volumes totalled €147bn in April, compared with €206bn in March.
April’s equity trading volumes were also curtailed by the Easter break.
The Vix index, which measures expected volatility on the blue-chip S&P 500 index, dropped below its long-term average of 20 last month, pointing to a period of market calm.
Corporate and sovereign bond market trading levels also slowed.
Rich Repetto, an analyst at Piper Sandler in New York, pointed out that, in spite of the drop, US cash equities volumes remained above pre-pandemic levels.