- Increased trading activity in Irish companies and ETFs with turnover up 2.9% in Q1 2011
- Trading activity in Irish Government securities falls from record levels in 2010
- Challenging international markets continue to impact specialist securities listings
Increased trading activity in Irish companies and ETFs with turnover up 2.9% in Q1 2011
The statistics show that turnover in Irish companies and ETFs on the ISE rose by 2.9% to €10.4bn [Q4 2010: €10.1bn] with daily average turnover in equities and ETFs also increasing by 4.6% in the same period. The number of trades also increased, with over a half million trades in equities and ETFs recorded in the first quarter [554k], with the daily average trade figures up 7.5% from levels recorded in the last quarter of 2010.
Six companies raised €100m on ISE markets in the first quarter of 2011. The most significant fund raisings were by Providence Resources plc and Aminex plc which raised capital of €51.5m and €33m respectively.
Market capitalisation of companies trading on the ISE’s Main Securities and Enterprise Securities Markets remained steady at €48bn.
Trading activity in Irish Government securities falls from record levels in 2010
The statistics show that turnover and trade figures in Irish Government securities are down significantly from the record levels achieved in 2010 reflecting the Irish Government’s decision to exit the bond markets in Q4 2010. Turnover fell by 65% to €10.6bn [Q4 2010: €30.4bn]. The number of trades in Irish Government bonds and Treasury bills also fell to just less than 50% of the statistics recorded in last quarter of 2010 [Q1 2011: 6,522 and Q4 2010: 13,538].
The market capitalisation of Irish Government bonds and Treasury bills at the end of March 2011 was €69.4bn, down 7.3% on the value recorded at the end of 2010 [Q4 2010: €74.9bn].
Performance of ISEQ equity and bond indices
While most ISEQ equity indices declined by single percentage points in the first quarter, the equity general index and small cap index bucked this trend showing a slight increase of 1.7% and 3.4% respectively. The equity financial index showed the largest decline over the first quarter, falling by 37.6%.
The statistics indicate that the ISEQ bond indices continued the negative return evident in the latter half of 2010. The fall in the all bond index measured 5.7% in the first quarter, while the value of the other ISEQ bond indices declined between 3.6% and 6.4% from the figures recorded at the end of 2010.
Challenging international markets continue to impact specialist securities listings
Challenging conditions in international capital markets continue to impact the level of new funds and debt securities being admitted to listing on the ISE’s markets in 2011. While the level of new fund and sub funds fell in the first quarter of 2011 to 97, [Q4 2010: 114], the level of newly listed debt tranches showed some signs of recovery, rising by 5.6% compared to Q4 2010 [693 compared to 656].
At the end of March 2011, the number of funds and sub funds listed on the ISE was 2,994 [2010: 3,009] while tranches of debt securities amounted to 22,200 [2010: 22,510].
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