The London Stock Exchange today issued a routine update ahead of its six month results for the period ending 30 September. It says its trading performance has “remained resilient against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and significant market volatility.”
The total number of companies on the Exchange’s markets at 31 August 2002 was 2,865 (2001: 2,928). During the first five months of the year, there were 114 new issues on the Exchange’s markets (2001: 155), despite continued difficult conditions in the IPO market.
AIM, the Exchange’s market for smaller and growing businesses, continued to attract new companies. At 31 August 2002, 682 companies were traded on AIM, compared with 597 last year.
The total number of equity bargains transacted on the Exchange’s markets increased by 12 per cent to 21.8 million (2001: 19.5 million), reflecting a period of pronounced market volatility. The total value of equity bargains traded totalled 2.1 trillion (2001: 2.3 trillion).
During the period, average equity bargains per day rose to 208,000 (2001: 186,000). The increase was most notable on SETS, the Exchange’s electronic Order Book, which achieved record trading levels in both June and July. Average daily SETS bargains increased 62 per cent to 94,000 during the first five months of the financial year (2001: 58,000).
At 31 August 2002, the total number of terminals receiving Exchange data was 101,000, compared to 103,000 at 30 June 2002 (2001: 111,000). Approximately, 94,000 terminals were attributable to the professional user base (30 June 2002: 94,000; 2001: 101,000).
RNS, the Exchange’s primary information distribution service, has continued to perform well, retaining its significant market share for regulatory announcements.
Commenting on current trading, Clara Furse, Chief Executive said: “The Exchange has performed well during a period of significant market volatility and uncertain economic conditions. Although we expect market conditions to remain difficult in the coming months we believe the Exchange is well positioned for the remainder of the financial year.”
The Exchange will release its Interim Results for the half year ending 30 September 2002 on 7 November 2002.