Listed exchanges rallied with a 14.7 per cent jump in value during April 2009, building on the previous month’s 22 per cent rise and again demonstrating the effect of talk of consolidation in the industry.
Last month, the two best performers were Philippine Stock Exchange and Bolsa Mexicana de Valores SA.However, all 18 exchanges on the FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index, which aims to reflect market sentiment and is a key indicator of exchanges performance, have seen their share values decrease by at least 26.2 per cent over the past 12 months. All this is against the background of speculation of renewed merger talks between NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse.
The Index was up 14.7 per cent in April 2009, bringing US dollar year-to-date capital returns up to 10.7 per cent and taking over 80 per cent of listed exchanges into positive territory for the month.
Herbie Skeete, Managing Director, Mondo Visione and also Co-founder of the Index said:
“We’ve seen another boost in the value of listed exchanges in April, reflecting renewed merger talks, banks beginning to produce better results and more confidence returning to the market.
However, it is still too early to say that the market has bottomed out, and there is a long way to go. Like other companies, exchanges continue to rein in costs. Revenues, however, continue to be hit by tariff cuts as exchanges in the US and Europe fight off competition from new entrants.”
The Index closed at 17464.80 on 30 April 2009, up from 15222.51 on 31 March 2009. Year to date, the Index has increased by 10.7 per cent.
The FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index best performer by capital returns in US dollars was Philippine Stock Exchange with a 55 per cent increase in share price from 31 March 2009 to 30 April 2009. The FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index worst performer by capital returns in US dollars was CME Group with a 10.2 per cent decrease in share price from 31 March 2009 to 30 April 2009.