Feb. 11--Online futures broker optionsXpress Holdings Inc. of Chicago said January trading activity was down substantially from one year ago, but showed a slight uptick from December's depressed levels.

Retail daily average revenue trades, known in the industry as DARTs, dropped 25 percent from the year-ago month, to 30,900. But DARTS increas by 8 percent from December of 2008.

"Trading activity improved slightly in January, although industry volumes and retail engagement remained low as macroeconomic and securities market conditions remained difficult," said Chief Executive Officer David Fisher.

Client assets stood at $4.9 billion at the end of January, down 10 percent from a year ago and flat with December's level, optionsXpress said.

mobrien@tribune.com

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