ASX Monthly Trading Report For July 2007

ASX Limited (ASX) announces its monthly trading information for ASX and SFE-traded markets for July 2007.

A number of daily and monthly trading records were observed in the cash markets during the month. Strong derivative volumes were also recorded, particularly in the latter part of the month, due to volatile global equity markets and domestic CPI data fuelling volatility in interest rate expectations.

ASX-traded markets:

A monthly trade volume record of 6,142,451 cash market trades, with a turnover value of $136.9 billion, was achieved in July 2007. This is an increase of 6.1% on the previous monthly cash market trades record set in June 2007 of 5,787,987. The July 2007 trade volume is an increase of 94% on the prior comparable period (pcp).
A daily trade volume record of 404,687 cash market trades was achieved on 27 July 2007, with a turnover value of $9.2 billion. This is an increase of 11.3% on the previous daily cash market record of 363,758 trades on 28 February 2007.

SFE-traded markets:

In July 2007 there were 6,824,981 futures and options contracts traded, representing a notional value of $3.6 trillion. This is an increase of 17.5% on the pcp.

ASX listings:

In July 2007, 35 new entities¹were listed, 94% higher than the pcp, bringing total listed entities to 2,113.

Systems:

On 9 July 2007, an upgrade of ASX’s Company Announcements Platform – that disseminates announcements from listed entities to the market - went live. Announcements are now searchable and presented in full colour. An archive of announcements back to 1998 is also available. The volume of company announcements processed by ASX has grown enormously over the past 10 years, from 42,000 in FY96 to almost 118,000 in FY07.

ASX’s trading systems - CLICK XT for ASX-traded volumes and SYCOM for SFE-traded volumes - delivered 100% systems availability during July 2007.

A detailed activity statement for ASX and SFE-traded markets for July 2007 is attached.

Details for the full 2007 financial year will be presented at ASX’s Full-Year Results announcement on 16 August 2007.

¹Entities include companies and trusts with quoted equities (including individual entities that trade as stapled securities) and also other entities with debt securities only.