ISEQ reports strong growth

The Irish Stock Exchange has reported continued strong growth in equity trading volumes in the first quarter of 2005.

With €26.8bn traded on ISE Xetra, it has been a record quarter with the highest turnover in the exchange’s history.

The value of shares traded on the exchange increased by 22% in quarter one from €21.9bn during the same period in 2004. The average daily equity turnover on the Exchange in the first quarter of this year rose to €440m from €343m in Q1, 2004.

Companies traded on the ISE raised a total of €332m in the first quarter.

The average number of transactions per day in the quarter was 3,171 compared to 2,962 in the first quarter of 2004, emphasising the underlying liquidity of the market and reflecting an increased level of investment in equities by private investors.

The Irish equity market continued to perform strongly against global markets. The more than 15% increase in the ISEQ Overall Index between April 2004 and the end of March 2005 outperformed global indices such as the FTSE 100, Eurostoxx 50, CDAX, NASDAQ and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The ISEQ Overall, Financial, Small Cap indices all reached their life high during quarter one, 2005.

The Irish Stock Exchange launched a new index, the ISEQ 20 Index, on March 7, 2005. The index represents 20 of the most liquid and largest capped equities listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

The ISEQ 20 index has recorded growth of 99% in the price index and 129% growth in the return index in the seven year period for which the index data has been calculated.