A Good First Half Year For Oslo Børs

The first six months of 2003 have seen a return of optimism in the Norwegian market and for Oslo Børs. The benchmark index for the Oslo market gained 16.5% with a good level of trading activity, and the inflow of major international investment firms as members of Oslo Børs has continued. Derivatives trading also showed an improvement in the first six months.

After almost three consecutive years of falling share prices on the world's stock markets, Oslo Børs has recently shown a more positive trend. A combination of improving corporate earnings and signs of a recovery in investor confidence has generated an upturn in trading activity. Average daily turnover for share trading on Oslo Børs so far this year is NOK 1.94 billion, with June showing a daily average of NOK 2.8 billion. The equivalent figure for 2002 was a daily average of around NOK 1.8 billion.

Moreover the last day of June saw the number of trades this year pass the one million mark, giving a daily average for the first six months of 8,203 transactions. The figures for June alone show more than 10,000 transactions carried out through the Oslo Børs trading system every day.

The performance of the Oslo Børs benchmark index, OSEBX, was well ahead of other European markets in the first six months of 2003 with a gain of 16.5%. The overall value of shares listed on Oslo Børs has improved by an impressive 36.1% from the low point seen on 25 February.

Stock market indices for the first six months of 2003:

Oslo Børs (OSEBX)	+ 16,5%
Stockholmsbörsen (SAX)	+ 7,4%
Københavns Fondsbørs (KFX)	+ 12,4%
Helsinki (HEX All Share)	- 4,4%
London (FTSE 100)	+ 3,3%
Paris (CAC 40)	+ 1,9%
Frankfurt (DAX)	+ 11,3%
Dow Jones Industrial	+ 7,83%
Nasdaq Composite	+ 21,2%
Nikkei	+ 5,9%

New remote members

Oslo Børs welcomed a number of international investment firms as members over the course of 2002 and 2003. The most recent additions are Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank, which both starting trading in June this year.

If the Norwegian State's shareholdings are ignored, it can be seen that international investment in shares listed on Oslo Børs has maintained a good level over recent years despite weak market conditions. Indeed international investment showed a proportionate increase over this period if the State's shareholdings in Statoil and Telenor are excluded from the figures.

Growth in derivatives turnover

Trading in the derivatives market over the first six months of 2003 saw an increase in average daily transaction volumes of around 1,000 contracts as compared to the same period last year. Average daily turnover so far this year is just under 14,000 contracts. This improvement is largely due to greater turnover in OBX futures contracts, which accounted for around 3,000 contracts daily in the first six months. This represents an increase of almost 50% from the same period last year. Oslo Børs has worked in close collaboration with its most active derivatives members to improve the pricing picture for this product segment, and over the last 12 months the OBX futures contract has established a position as one of the most liquid products traded through Oslo Børs.