New reality at Neuer Markt

The first reports are surfacing in Europe that the bloom my be off Germany's Neuer Markt exchange for growth stocks. But despite a 15.5 percent decline in share prices on the exchange so far this year, it may be too early to conclude that investors have lost interest in trading on the leader of the Continent's New Market exchanges.

The NEMAX All Share Index, a measure of Neuer Markt value, fell 601 points from Dec. 31 to close at 3277 on Friday. However, average trading volume per company has actually increased, from 748,000 shares last December to 884,000 in July...