Trading on SETS, the London Stock Exchange's electronic order book, continued to show very strong growth during February 2006, reaching new record levels. The average daily value traded on SETS was up 43 per cent on February 2005 to £5.8 billion and the average daily number of trades was up 35 per cent to 266,577 – both new records.

February accounted for nine of the twenty busiest trading days ever on SETS. 28 February exceeded the previous record for the highest number of SETS trades in a single day by over 10,000 with a total of 332,980 trades. Eighteen of the twenty busiest trading days have occurred since the sucessful implementation of two stages in the delivery of the Exchange's Technology Roadmap; the introduction of Infolect in September and the October trading capacity upgrade. These two developments facilitate high-velocity trading by member firms.

The total number of trades on SETS during February was 5.3 million with a total value traded of £116.4 billion. The average size of a SETS trade increased five per cent on February 2005 to £21,830. Included in the SETS figures, February was also a record month for SETSmm, with the average daily value traded reaching over £400 million for the first time. The average daily number of trades on SETSmm during February was 48,925.

Trading across the Exchange showed strong increases with a total of 8.2 million trades during the month, up 33 per cent on February last year. The value traded was £561.3 billion, also up 33 per cent.

Trading in ETFs rose strongly, up 147 per cent on February 2005. The total value traded during the month reached £1.2 billion, an increase of 137 per cent by value on February last year. The number of covered warrants trades during the month was up 53 per cent on February last year, and the value traded was up 109 per cent to £28.7 million.

February was also a very good month on the primary markets, with a total of 29 IPOs of which 8 were international. There were seven IPOs on the Main Market, raising £2.7 billion between them and 22 IPOs on AIM, raising £284 million.

RNS, the Exchange's service for the dissemination of company news, transmitted a total of 13,151 announcements during the month, an increase of 22 per cent on February 2005. This included 4,659 news and results announcements, representing an increase of 13 per cent on 2005 and an 87 per cent share of all news and results announcements made.

There were 20 trading days during February 2006, the same number as in February 2005.

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Notes to editors:

• About the London Stock Exchange

  The London Stock Exchange is the world’s premier international equity exchange and a leading provider of services that facilitate the raising of capital and the trading of shares.

  The London Stock Exchange is the most international equities exchange by trading in the world and Europe's largest pool of liquidity. By the end of 2005, the market capitalisation of UK and international companies on the London Stock Exchange’s markets amounted to £4.1 trillion, with £5.2 trillion of equity business transacted over the year.

  The London Stock Exchange is a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and is supervised by the Financial Services Authority.

  Companies considering flotation have a choice of markets:

  • AIM
    AIM is the London Stock Exchange’s international market specifically designed for smaller, growing companies, combining the benefits of a public flotation with appropriate levels of regulation.
  • Main Market
    The London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for established companies seeking international recognition is one of the world’s best known, longest-established and most liquid markets. It is home to some of the world’s largest and most successful companies, giving them access to one of the deepest pools of capital in the world.
  • Professional Securities Market
    The Professional Securities Market was established in July 2005, to coincide with the introduction of the FSA's new Listing Rules. PSM provides a solution for those issuers seeking to list securities in London without having to re-state their financial information to IFRS or follow the additional requirements of an offering to retail investors. Debt securities or depository receipts of any denomination may be listed on PSM on production of a prospectus aimed at a wholesale or professional audience.
• IPO

  An IPO or Initial Public Offering is when a new company joins one of our markets and raises capital by issuing shares. This excludes transfers and introductions (when companies join the market without raising money).

• Indices

  Indices are calculated and managed by FTSE Group, a world-leader in the creation and management of global equity indices. The FTSE Group is jointly owned by the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Times, but operates as a wholly autonomous company.

  For information about the company or any FTSE indices, please contact media@ftse.com

• SETS – the electronic order book

  It is over eight years since the launch of SETS and the service continues to go from strength to strength. Overall, the market is benefiting from tighter spreads and greater liquidity. Usage of SETS continues to grow, as shown by recent record increases in the number of orders entered, the number of firms using the order book and order book share of business.

• SETSmm

  SETSmm is the Exchange’s successful trading service for FTSE 250 and other leading non order book securities. By combining the best features of the existing SETS and SEAQ trading services, SETSmm appeals to market users who want to trade electronically, as well as those customers who use the market making system.

• Retail Trading Figures

  Retail trading figures are available from our website at –
  www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/products/membershiptrading/retailtradestat
  Figures are available from November 2002 to date.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE MONTHLY FACTSHEET FIGURES

2006

	2006			2005
DOMESTIC EQUITY TRADING	Month	Year to date		Month	Year to date
Equity Trading Value (£m)	264,878	532,918		205,528	402,297
Number of Equity Trades	6,428,834	12,984,341		5,026,617	9,779,477
INTERNATIONAL EQUITY TRADING
Equity Trading Value (£m)	296,401	597,664		217,628	406,820
Number of Equity Trades	1,817,999	3,793,353		1,152,019	2,364,833

ORDER BOOK TRADING
Order Book Value (£m)	116,389	234,138		81,634	153,727
Order Book Trades	5,331,532	10,750,482		3,941,105	7,683,985

	February 2006		February 2005
DOMESTIC MARKET CAPITALISATION (£bn)		1,907		1,551
TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPANIES		3,099		2,865
Main Market UK	1,336		1,454
Main Market International	330		346
of which techMARK	148		165
AIM	1,426		1,065
Professional Securities Market (Equity only)	7		-

	2006		2005
MONEY RAISED (£m)	Month	Year to date	Month	Year to date
Equity Money Raised:
New issues: Main Market UK	507	533	281	283
New issues: Main Market International	2,150	2,150	890	890
New issues: AIM	296	403	166	176
Further issues: Main Market UK	327	493	30	121
Further issues: Main Market International	6	290	-	69
Further issues: AIM	508	809	101	172
PSM (new & further, UK & International)	-	103	-	-
COMPANIES ADMITTED	43	73	52	74
Debt Money Raised (£m)
Main Market UK	7,538	19,964	10,285	21,465
Main Market International	16,304	25,504	10,609	15,617
PSM ( PSM (UK & International)	1,242	3,389	-	-

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