During October 2007, there were 19.1 million electronic order book trades with a combined value of £299.6 billion (€429.7 billion) on the cash markets of Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange – more than on any other European exchange. The average daily number of order book trades increased 46 per cent to 832,156 while the average daily value traded rose 34 per cent to £13.0 billion (€18.7 billion).

In the first ten months of 2007, the average daily number of electronic order book trades on the cash markets of the two exchanges was 814,297, an increase of 54 per cent on the first ten months of 2006. Meanwhile, the average daily value traded on the exchanges’ cash markets during the same period was £12.7 billion (€18.6 billion), up 41 per cent on the average of £9 billion (€13.1 billion) in the first ten months of 2006.

UK Order Book

The average daily number of order book trades in UK equities reached 552,715 during October 2007, a 71 per cent increase on October 2006. The average daily value traded during the month increased 34 per cent year on year to £7.8 billion (€11.2 billion).

So far this year, the number of order book trades in UK equities has increased 72 per cent to 107.0 million while the value traded has risen 40 per cent to £1.7 trillion. This growth has been facilitated by the introduction of the new trading platform, TradElect, in June. The top ten busiest days by volume and seven of the top ten busiest days by value traded in the UK order book have taken place since the launch of TradElect. Further upgrades to the platform were carried out during October.

Italian Order Book

The average daily number of trades in Italian equities was 258,045 during October 2007, up 7 per cent on October 2006. Meanwhile the average daily value traded rose 23 per cent to €6.6 billion (£4.6 billion).

Based on trading between January and October 2007, the average number of trades in Italian equities each day has been 291,368 per day, an increase of 29 per cent over the same period last year. At the same time, the average value traded each day has been €6.3 billion (£4.3 billion), up 44 per cent on the first ten months of 2006.

International Order Books

During October 2007, there were 492,118 electronic trades in international securities across both markets, an increase of 160 per cent on October 2006. The total value traded increased 107 per cent to £15.2 billion (€21.7 billion).

The average daily number of international trades during the month was 21,396, up 149 per cent on the average for October 2006. The average daily value traded was £659.0 million, up 98 per cent on October last year.

ETFs and ETCs

The number of ETFs and ETC trades on the exchanges’ markets more than doubled to 206,048 during the month, up 181 per cent from 73,233 during October 2006. Over the same period, the value traded rose 103 per cent to £3.5 billion (€5.0 billion).

Derivatives

During the month, there were 7.9 million contracts traded across EDX and IDEM with a notional value of £114.7 billion (€164.6 billion). The average daily number of contracts increased 43 per cent year on year to 342,228 while the notional value traded increased 32 per cent to £5.0 billion (€7.2 billion).

Separately, there were 365,295 trades in securitised derivatives (including covered warrants and certificates) during the month. The total value traded in securitised derivatives was £4.4 billion (€6.3 billion). In the first ten months of the year, the total number of contracts traded has risen 18 per cent to 4.3 million, while the value has increased 54 per cent to £54.7 billion (€80.5 billion).