Record turnover for ISE in first quarter

Dublin's ISEQ index hit a life time high during the first quarter of 2006 and continued to outperform most global stock markets.

The Irish Stock Exchange today reported a record quarter of equity turnover, with trading in equities in the first three months of the year up 24% to €33.4bn.

Average daily equity turnover rose to €522m from €430m the same time last year.

Daily transactions on the equity markets rose by 26% to 4,006 from 3,171 the same time last year. Companies traded on the ISE raised a total of €658m in the first quarter of 2006.

A statement from the ISE said that of the numbers of deals done in the first quarter of 2005, 55% were executed on the ISE Xetra electronic order-book with 45% done off the orderbook. It said this is the highest order book share of the market since the launch of Xetra in June 2000.