The average daily number of SETS trades during April 2007 was up 64 per cent on the same month last year to 465,967, making April the sixth month in a row that year on year growth in SETS trades exceeded 50 per cent. The average daily value traded grew 25 per cent to £7.5 billion. The total number of trades on SETS during the month was up 73 per cent to 8.9 million, and the total value traded grew 32 per cent to £143.0 billion.

Also included in the SETS figures, trading on SETSmm was strong, with the total number of trades on SETSmm during the month more than double the total for April last year, up 126 per cent to 2.3 million. The total value traded on SETSmm grew 81 per cent to £15.5 billion. On the International Order Book, the total number of trades grew 45 per cent to 64,626, while the value traded grew 13 per cent to £5.1 billion.

The total number of UK equity trades during the month was 9.9 million, up 62 per cent on April last year, while the total value traded grew 24 per cent to £300.1 billion.

ETF trading activity was up 33 per cent on April 2006 to 31,922 trades, and the total value traded in ETFs increased 77 per cent to £2.3 billion.

On the primary market, there were nine UK Main Market IPOs raising £422.3 million between them, and one international Main Market IPO which raised £508.3 million. There were 14 IPOs on AIM, raising a combined total of £423.8 million.

RNS, the Exchange’s service for the dissemination of company news, issued 15,975 announcements during the month, up 16 per cent on April last year. Of these more than a third (5,541) were news and results announcements, representing an 86 per cent share of all such announcements made in the UK market.

There were 19 trading days during April, one more than during April 2006.