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- Equity turnover up 4.3% to €25.6 billion, market capitalisation rises by 5% with Irish listed companies raising over €5 billion during H1 2010
- Irish Government bond turnover more than doubles with bond market capitalisation increasing by 16%
- Milestone of 40 member firms exceeded
- Most ISEQ equity & bond indices show small decline in value during H1
- International specialist markets remain challenged
Equity turnover up 4.3% to €25.6 billion, market capitalisation rises by 5% with Irish listed companies raising over €5 billion during H1 2010
The statistics show that equity turnover increased by 4.3% to €25.6 billion in the first half of 2010 [H1 2009: €24.5 billion]. Trading volumes in equities quoted on the Exchange [1.13 million] and the daily average number of trades [9,129] were marginally lower than the figures recorded in H1 2009 [1.15 million and 9,357 respectively].
Market capitalisation of equities admitted to trading on the ISE rose by 5% to €47.2 billion from the 2009 end of year figure recorded.
Eleven companies trading on the ISE raised funds of over €5 billion during H1 [€1.4 billion in H1 2009]. The most significant fund raising was by Bank of Ireland in the second quarter of €4.1 billion with Providence Resources raising €111 million and IFG Group plc raising €66 million respectively [H1 2009 figure included fund raising by CRH plc of €1.278 billion].
Irish Government bond turnover more than doubles with bond market capitalisation increasing by 16%
Strong activity in Irish Government Bonds and Treasury Bills continued into the second quarter of 2010, with turnover in Irish Government Bonds and Treasury Bills more than double the figure recorded in the first half of 2009 [€149.5 billion compared to €62.8 billion in H1 2009]. The market capitalisation of Irish Government debt also increased during the period, rising by 16% to €83 billion from the value recorded at the end of 2009.
Milestone of 40 member firms exceeded
The ISE attracted three new international member firms during the first half of 2010, bringing its membership numbers to 41 and the international segment of its membership base to almost 80%. In April, Fortis Bank Global Clearing1, joined as a General Clearing Member, increasing the number of clearing services providers in the Irish market to eight. In the same month, Merrill Lynch International expanded its membership of the ISE to become a primary dealer in Irish Government bonds, trading under the Bank of America Merrill Lynch brand. Also in April, Madison Tyler Europe Limited, a proprietary trading firm, commenced equity trading on ISE Xetra.
Most ISEQ equity & bond indices show small decline in value during H1
The review shows that most ISEQ equity indices had a small decline in value during the first half of 2010. While the ISEQ general index rose by 0.4% from its end of 2009 position, most other indices showed a fall in value of between 2% and 9%, mainly reflecting the fall in the ISEQ financial index of 30%.
The ISEQ bond indices, which measure the return on Irish Government securities, showed a small negative return in the first half of 2010, with returns in the range of -1.8% to -4.8% being noted.
International specialist markets remain challenged
The ISE’s specialist markets for funds and debt securities remain affected by challenging market conditions arising from the global credit crisis. However new fund and sub fund listings continued to show some evidence of the recovery noted at the end of 2010 and into the first quarter, with new listings of 229 in the first half of 2010 being significantly up on 2009 levels [H1 2009: 104].
New debt tranches listed in the first half were 1,312 [H1 2009: 1,556] bringing the total level of debt listings to 23,629 at the end of June 2010.
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