The total number of UK and international trades on the London Stock Exchange in February 2003 was 4.21 million, up six per cent from 3.96 million in February 2002. This was despite a year on year decline in the number of international trades.

The total value of UK and international trades in February 2003 was £242.2 billion. The average daily number of UK and international trades increased to 210,706 compared with 197,852 in February 2002.

The total number of UK trades on the London Stock Exchange increased to 3.44 million in February 2003, up 26 per cent compared with 2.73 million in February 2002. However, the value of shares traded decreased by 14 per cent to £124.8 billion, down from £145.5 billion in February 2002.

In February the number of trades on SETS™, the London Stock Exchange’s electronic order book, increased to 2.59 million trades compared with 1.55 million in February 2002, an increase of 67 per cent. The value traded on SETS increased by one per cent to £52.7 billion in 2003, from £52.4 billion in February 2002.

The average daily number of trades on SETS was 129,598, up from 77,709 in February 2002. SETS achieved a 66.2 per cent share of eligible trades by value in February 2003, compared with 60.4 per cent in February 2002.

On the primary market there were 4 new issues during February 2003, 1 of which was an IPO on AIM. This compares with 9 IPOs in February 2002 – 3 on the Main Market and 6 on AIM.

For further information, please contact:

Notes to editors:

• About the London Stock Exchange:

  The London Stock Exchange is one of the world’s leading equity exchanges 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 2002, the market capitalisation of UK and international companies on its markets amounted to £3.1 trillion, with £4.6 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.

• SETS – the electronic order book.

  It is now five years since the launch of SETS and the service continues to go from strength to strength. Overall, the market is benefiting from tighter spreads, greater liquidity and lower execution costs. 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.

  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

  IPO - when a new company joins our market raising money. This excludes transfers and introductions (a company that joins a market without raising money).

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE
MONTHLY FACTSHEET FIGURES

	February 2003
		2003		2002
	DOMESTIC EQUITY TRADING	Month	Year to date	Month	Year to date
	Equity Trading Value (£m)	124,833	273,545	145,460	298,266
	Number of Equity Trades	3,435,325	7,342,542	2,726,095	5,559,024
	INTERNATIONAL EQUITY TRADING
	Equity Trading Value (£m)	117,342	294,488	226,704	488,104
	Number of Equity Trades	778,787	1,935,236	1,230,952	2,726,867
	ORDER BOOK TRADING
	Order Book Value £m	52,707	114,854	52,427	106,950
	Order Book Trades	2,591,959	5,469,682	1,554,186	3,128,230
		February 2003		February 2002
	DOMESTIC MARKET CAPITALISATION £bn		1,076		1,516
	TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPANIES		2,804		2,878
	UK list	1,689		1,795
	Foreign	412		445
	AIM	703		638
	of which techMARK	207		239
		2003		2002
	MONEY RAISED £m	Month	Year to date	Month	Year to date
	UK & AIM New Issues Equity	0	26	206	277
	Further, Rights and Other	242	411	1,440	1,667
	Bonds, Warrants, Fixed Interest	4,809	10,489	5,666	10,469
	Int. New Issues Equity	-	-	-	-
	Further, Rights and Other	77	77	132	172
	Bonds, Warrants, Fixed Interest	8,816	17,880	5,627	10,929
	COMPANIES ADMITTED	4	18	10	31

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