ISE enjoys €17.7bn surge in trade

There has been a €17 billion plus surge in trade in equities and government bonds on the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) with gross turnover hitting €43.86bn in the first quarter — up 68% from €26.09bn in the final quarter of 2012.

Ireland’s phased return to the markets has fuelled the growth with the NTMA’s issuing 14 new Irish government bonds and three treasury bills in the first quarter of 2013 raising €9.2bn, boosting the ISE listings of Irish government bonds to €101.1bn, an increase of 12.1% from €90.2bn since year end.

The daily trade in Irish government bonds has hit an average of €477m, up from €253m in the final quarter of 2012. In all €29.54bn in Irish government bonds was traded in the first quarter, up 82.7% on the final quarter of 2012 when just €16.17bn in bonds were traded.