The Olympics have brought excitement and revelry to the streets of London, but they have done little for Europe's anaemic trading volumes. According to traders, the sporting bonanza has only served to compound the broader market slump, as trading floors have been deserted in favour of the Olympic Park or foreign climes.

Trading turnover in Europe cash equities for August stands at €257bn for the first nine trading days of the month, according to data from Thomson Reuters. The market will have some work to do to match previous Augusts - particularly last year's exceptional summer high of €1.150 trillion - in the remaining 13 trading days. Last August, trading was driven by the European sovereign debt crisis.