The Amex has appointed Robert Wotczak as managing director of European Equities and it has hired a European-based capital market communications and advisory firm, K Capital Source, to support its European development efforts.
John McGonegal, Amex senior vice president of Equities, commented on these initiatives. "It is clear, from the work we have already done in Europe, that our unique, service-oriented market structure will benefit many European companies," he said. "Our objective is to position the Amex as the exchange of choice for small to middle market capitalization companies to access North American capital markets. K Capital will help us expand our visibility in Europe."
Mr. McGonegal added, "The Amex is the second largest auction market in the United States and its market structure provides investors with a fair, efficient and accountable marketplace. The Amex's centralized auction market brings together all market participants to compete directly with one another on price, typically resulting in better market quality, which is reflected in greater liquidity, narrower spreads and lower volatility."
The Amex is home to a wide variety of U.S. and non-U.S. companies operating in diverse business sectors. It offers increased levels of support services, which benefits companies at every stage of development, in particular, small to middle market companies striving for increased or enhanced visibility and institutional ownership.
In the first half of 2004, the Amex listed 50 new companies, a 61% increase over the first half of 2003. In addition, consolidated average daily volume of the new listings was 12% higher and the average market capitalization of new listings was 70% higher in the first half of 2004 than in 2003. The Amex Composite Index (XAX) finished the first half of 2004 at 1249.82, a 29% increase over the same time last year. The XAX was up 36% over the past three years and up 57% over the past five years, outperforming the Nasdaq Composite Index, the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index, the Russell 2000 Index, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Wilshire 5000 Index during the same periods.
About American Stock Exchange
The American Stock Exchange® (Amex®) is the only primary exchange that offers trading across a full range of equities, options and exchange traded funds (ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRSSM. In addition to its role as a national equities market, the Amex is the pioneer of the ETF, responsible for bringing the first domestic product to market in 1993. Leading the industry in ETF listings, the Amex lists 138 ETFs to date. The Amex is also one of the largest options exchanges in the U.S., trading options on broad-based and sector indexes as well as domestic and foreign stocks.
About K Capital Source<
K Capital Source is based in Dublin, Ireland. It is an independent capital market communications and advisory firm. It combines specialist knowledge of North American capital markets with a European presence. K Capital Source's current client base is split between North America and Europe and includes Jefferson Smurfit Group, C&C Group plc (ISE & LSE: CCR), IONA Technologies plc (NASDAQ: IONA) and Horizon Technology Group plc (ISE & LSE: HOR).
