Equities trading may have slumped to a decade low in Europe last year – but record results this week from Brazil's national stock exchange illustrate the vast growth potential for emerging securities markets as they upgrade technologies and embrace high-frequency trading.

In its 2012 results on Tuesday, BM&F Bovespa revealed record revenues from both its equities and derivatives markets. The value of daily equities trading averaged a record 7.3bn Brazilian real ($3.7bn), up 11.7% on the daily average in 2011. BM&F Bovespa said this was fuelled in part by increased trading from both local investors and HFTs.