- Trading volumes in equities reach record levels despite fall in values
- Almost €11 billion raised in Government Bonds
- International listings growing despite challenging conditions
- Launch of transparency initiatives
- Exchange commences regulatory separation
Increased trading activity despite fall in values
Trading volumes in equities quoted on the Exchange reached a record level in 2008, with the number of individual trades increasing by some 46% to more than 2.5 million. The sharp rise in trading volumes is reflected in the average daily trading figures which show an increase from 6,795 per day in 2007 to just under 10,000 in 2008. Key factors behind the increase include increased volatility on equity markets generally together with the Exchange’s competitive pricing structure and the increasing internationalisation of the Exchange’s member firms.
However as the market capitalisation of many companies listed on the Exchange declined from €93.5 billion in 2007 to €32.4 billion at the end of 2008, the value of trading on the equity market fell by just over 43% to €112 billion.
Continued strong activity on bond market
Turnover on the Government bond market fell slightly from €52 billion to €50.1 billion while the value of bonds issued by the National Treasury Management Agency increased from €6 billion to €11 billion, increasing the market capitalisation of Government bonds from €31 billion to €42.5 billion.
Strong performance in international listing activity despite difficult market conditions
While the global credit crisis has resulted in a downturn in demand for new debt and fund listings in 2008, the Exchange has performed comparatively well against its competitors. New fund listings in 2008 were 2,500 bringing the total number of funds listed on the Exchange to 9,217. New debt listings amounted to 4,381 during the year and the total of debt tranches now listed on the Exchange has grown to 24,698 at the end of 2008.
Membership growth
Four new member firms joined the Exchange in 2008, increasing the total number of Exchange member firms to 36. Collins Stewart Europe, a London based investment bank and securities house, joined in May and Amsterdam based Flow Traders, a leading liquidity provider, joined in September. In addition two new primary dealers in Irish Government bonds were admitted, BNP Paribas and Dresdner Kleinwort.
Comment from Chief Executive
Commenting on the 2008 results and the outlook for 2009, Deirdre Somers, Chief Executive of the Irish Stock Exchange said that “2008 was an exceptionally challenging year for markets everywhere, including Ireland. The year did see some significant developments for the Exchange, including progress on regulatory reform and the introduction of an innovative transparency service for asset backed securities, which has been well received at a time when communication with investors has never been more important. Our priorities for 2009 will be to continue to invest in our strategic infrastructure and to ensure that the establishment of the new supervisory entity - which will provide total clarity between the ISE’s supervisory role and the broader promotion and management of the Exchange - contributes to restoring confidence in the Irish market.”
The full Irish Stock Exchange Report on 2008 can be downloaded from the Exchange’s website, by clicking here
