- Trading in equities on the Irish Stock Exchange year to date up 11% to €58.5 billion over the same period of 2002.
- Average daily turnover in equities up 11% to €308 million
- €459 million raised year to date in share issues
- 10% increase in investment fund listings
- Listing of securitisations by the BBC, Priory Finance Company, Air France and Valentia Telecom.
The average daily equity turnover on the ISE for the first nine months of 2003 was €308 million, an 11% increase on the overall 2002 daily average. The average daily equity turnover on the ISE for the third quarter of 2003 was €312 million. So far this year companies listed on the Exchange raised €459 million through the issuance of shares to the market.
The underlying depth and liquidity in the market for Irish equities has continued to strengthen. The competitive lead of Dublin over other locations where Irish equities are traded has further widened with the ISE's markets now accounting for in excess of 85% of trading in these securities. This growth is further underlined by strong growth in stock lending activity with aggregate daily stock loans in Irish equities increasing almost three-fold over the last two years.
Commenting on the figures for the nine months, ISE Chief Executive Tom Healy said: "We are delighted with these figures which show clearly that the Irish market is still the clear market of choice for investors who wish to trade Irish equities. When the continued excellent performance in listing investment funds and specialist debt securities and the strength of the bond market are taken into account, it has been an excellent nine months for the exchange."
The strong performance of the Irish market was not confined to market turnover and the ISEQ Overall Index closed at 4487 on 30 September, outperforming most global indices including the FTSE All-Share Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with a 12% increase from its end-2002 level of 3995. The ISEQ subindices also performed well with the ISEQ Financial, General, Small Cap and ITEQ indices gaining 6%, 19%, 38% and 38% respectively. All five ISEQ indices reached their 2003 highs during the third quarter of 2003.
The biggest individual gain in price was Icon which rose €4.50 (17%) in the period, followed by F.B.D Holdings - up €4.45 (70%). Other significant increases included Galen Holdings- up €2.31 (31%), Irish Life & Permanent - up €1.87 (20%) and CRH - up €1.67 (12%).
The number of investment funds and sub-funds listed on the Irish market grew by 10% with the introduction of over 530 new entities in 2003, 170 of these were in the third quarter. This brings the number of funds and sub-funds listed on the Exchange at the end of September to 3,374. These entities were introduced to the market by firms such as Abbey National, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and Lazards. The first three quarters of 2003 also saw strong growth in the listing of specialist debt securities with a 117% increase in the number of programmes to 91 and a 39% increase in the number of non-programmes to 630.
Companies such as BBC, Priory Finance Company, Air France and Valentia Telecom were the issuers of these new securitised instruments on the ISE.
Turnover in Government bonds for the 2003 year to date totalled €59.4 billion and the market capitalisation of Government bonds listed on the Exchange rose 26% to €27.7 billion. €5.3 billion has been raised so far in 2003 through the issuance of Government bonds.
| KEY METRICS JAN - SEP 2003 | Equities | Government Bonds | ||
| Q3 | 2003 to date | Q3 | 2003 to date | |
| Turnover Total €m | 20,580 | 58,495 | 20,930 | 59,359 |
| Turnover Daily Average €m | 308 | 312 | 318 | 312 |
| Market Capitalisation €m 30-Sep-2003 | 57,904 | 27,657 | ||
| Market Capitalisation Change % | 5% | 9% | 26% | 4% |
| Money Raised €m | 120 | 459 | 5,270 | 2,040 |
| Number of Instruments 30-Sep-2003 | 76 | 16 | ||
Please click here for third quarter statistics.
