Market report - February

London Stock Exchange Plc
08 March 2006


News Release


8 March 2006
MR56-2.06





                  TRADING ON SETS HITS NEW RECORD IN FEBRUARY



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.



                                    - ends -



For further information, please contact:

Catherine Mattison                           Press Office   [phone]

[e-mail]







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
[e-mail]





•      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                            6             290                 -            69
International
  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                 -             -




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange