Value Traded In UK Equities Up 4% During July

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

07 August 2008

Trading activity across the London Stock Exchange Group remained resilient during July 2008, driven by strong trading in UK equities, the LSE announced this week.

A total of 24.3 million equity trades were carried out across the Group, with a combined value of GBP263.5bn (EUR333.9bn).

This was an increase of 35% in the number of trades compared with the same month last year, and a decrease of 4% in overall value traded for the Group as a whole.

The average daily number of trades during the month was 1.1 million, up 29% on July last year, while the average daily value traded decreased 8% to GBP11.5bn (EUR14.5bn).

The total value traded on the UK order book during July increased 4% year on year to GBP183.9bn (EUR233.1 billion), the LSE revealed on Wednesday. The average daily value traded remained constant at GBP8bn (EUR10.1bn), despite an 18% decline in the value of the FTSE 100 Index compared with July 2007. The total number of trades during the month was 17.5 million, equating to an average 759,031 trades per day, 43% more than during the previous July.

5.7 million trades were carried out on the Italian equity order book, an increase of 2%on July last year, while the total value traded was EUR74.6bn (GBP58.9bn), down 37% year on year. The average daily number of trades was 249,773, and the average daily value traded was EUR3.2bn (GBP2.6bn). The average value for the MIB index during July was down 33% year on year.

The LSE further revealed that it was a record month for trading in international equities on the two markets, and the first time that the number of international equity trades has exceeded 1 million: there were 1.1 million trades during the month, equating to an average 48,574 trades per day. The total value traded was GBP20.7bn (EUR26.2bn), representing a 23% increase year on year.

Trading in ETFs and ETCs was also very strong; there were 140,452 trades during the month, worth a record GBP7bn (EUR8.8bn). This was an increase of 28% in the total number of trades, and a 152% increase in the total value traded. The average daily value traded was GBP302.3m (EUR383.2m) an increase of 141% year on year, while the average daily number of trades was up 22% to 6,107.

The total number of derivatives contracts traded on the EDX and IDEM markets increased 27% compared with last July to 8.3mn. The notional value traded increased 7% to GBP113.8bn (EUR144.3bn). The volume of contracts was up 22% year on year on an average daily value traded basis, to 360,776, while the average notional value traded each day increased 3% to GBP4.9bn (EUR6.3bn).

Separately, 235,382 trades were carried out in securitised derivatives, with a combined value of GBP2.0bn (EUR2.5bn).

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