Exchange shares trade dips 20%

THE volume of shares traded on the Irish Stock Exchange has tumbled 20% year-on-year, according to figures released yesterday.

The stock exchange's quarterly review of trading showed turnover in Irish-quoted equities between July and September fell to an average of €249 million a day, down from €308 million in the same period last year.

Total trading volumes over the three months fell from €20.6 billion to €16.4 billion. Trading volumes for the nine months to September fell 8% to €53.9 billion.

Stock exchange chief executive Tom Healy said the fall reflected lower trading activity by institutional investors, which offset an increase in trading patterns among smaller retail investors. While the total value of trades fell, the average daily number of transactions increased 9% to 2,400.

Companies listed on the Dublin exchange raised €323 million over the three months, bringing the total level of funds raised so far this year to €2.5 billion. The year-to-date figure was boosted by the high-profile listings of phone company Eircom and drinks and snack food group C&C.

The combined value of companies quoted stood at €74 billion in September, 3% more than at the end of June. But there was welcome news for the exchange as its policy of shifting away from equities towards other specialist financial instruments showed signs of success.

Dublin became the world's number one location for listing global investment funds during the quarter, ahead of other centres such as Luxembourg, London and Frankfurt. Almost 200 new funds and sub-funds have been listed in Dublin so far this year, bringing the total number to more than 4,000.

Specialist debt instruments also showed strong growth, with 40% more new listings over the quarter than last year. More than 1,000 such instruments are listed in Dublin. Mr Healy said funds and debt securities listing business accounted for more than half of the exchange's operations.

"The business we have built up both in investment funds and debt securities in recent years is a vindication of the decisions that were taken to diversify the exchange's business," said Mr Healy. "And it is a source of great pride that the professionalism and skills that we have built up has resulted in the exchange becoming the world leader for these specialised instruments."

The exchange also said turnover in government bonds had fallen 2% to €57.9 billion over the first nine months of the year. The average daily volume traded fell slightly from €312 million to €303 million.