12.9 million transactions were completed on Euronext’s cash markets in March 2005. This represents an increase of 9.4 % compared to 2004’s monthly average, down on the same month last year, which was the busiest month since the creation of Euronext.
Over the first three months of 2005 more than 39 million cash transactions were registered, representing a daily average of 636,000, up 16.5% compared to the daily average in 2004, slightly down 2.4% year-on-year.
Shares
12.2 million share transactions were completed in March 2005, up 8.8% on the monthly average in 2004, bringing the total number of transactions since the beginning of 2005 to over 37 million.
IPOs
There have been 4 IPOs on Euronext’s regulated markets so far this year: Cafom, Sanef, RHJ International and Eurocommercial Properties, with a total amount of EUR 1.5 billion placed. These 4 new listings represent an additional EUR 5.3 billion in market capitalisation on Euronext markets.
Euronext.liffe, the international derivatives business of Euronext, traded 203 million futures and options contracts in the first quarter of 2005. Equity products traded 117 million contracts and Euronext.liffe’s interest rate products traded 83 million contracts.
Trading in 2005 decreased by 13% compared to the first quarter of 2004, reflecting the sustained lack of volatility in the short-term interest rate and equity markets and the very strong first quarter of last year. However, average daily volume year-to-date in 2005 is 3.2 million, up 5% on the average daily volume for 2004 and up 17% on the 2003 average daily volume.
Commodity products continued to show strong growth, trading 2.2 million contracts from January to March and up 27% year-on-year.
Total equity index futures set a new daily trading volume record on 15 March, trading 864,721 contracts.
Euronext.liffe’s Eurodollar future set an open interest record of over 200,000 on 14 March. Volume in March amounted to over 1 million futures contracts representing an average daily volume of over 47,000 contracts, boosted particularly by the growth of activity in “packs and bundles” which grew by over 150% in March.
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