Market Report - May 2005

London Stock Exchange Plc
09 June 2005


News Release




9 June 2005
MR47-05.05



          SETSmm CONTRIBUTES TO GROWTH IN ORDER BOOK VOLUME DURING MAY



SETSmm, the London Stock Exchange's hybrid trading system, showed particularly
strong growth during May 2005.  During the month, the average daily number of
order book trades increased by 110 per cent on May 2004 to 28,819 and the
average daily value traded increased 57 per cent to £251.6 million.



SETS overall accounted for a significant proportion of the growth in trading
activity during May with a total of 4,010,602 trades, an increase of 29 per cent
on the number of trades on SETS in May last year.  The average daily number of
trades increased 23 per cent to 200,530.  The total value traded on SETS for the
month was £73.0 billion, up 3 per cent on the total value traded on SETS during
the comparable period last year.



The total number of equity trades carried out across the Exchange during the
month was 6,206,471, up 25 per cent on the total number of trades carried out
during May last year.  The average daily number of trades was up 19 per cent to
310,324 and the average daily value traded was £19.2 billion.



ETF trading also continued to grow, with the average daily value traded in ETFs
up 21 per cent on May 2004 to £30.1 million, and the average daily number of
trades up 14 per cent to 472.



The primary market saw a total of 28 IPOs.  Of these, 5 were IPOs on the Main
Market, including one international company, raising a total of £805.8  million
between them.  There were 23 IPOs on AIM during the month raising £328.6 million
between them.



There were 20 business days in May 2005, compared with 19 in May 2004.





                                    - 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 one of the world's leading equity exchanges and an
international provider of services that facilitate the raising of capital and
the trading of shares and debt securities.

The London Stock Exchange is the most international equities exchange by trading
in the world and Europe's largest pool of liquidity.  In 2004, 80% of all
European IPOs floated in London. By the end of 2004, the market capitalisation
of UK and international companies on the London Stock Exchange's markets
amounted to £3.5 trillion, with £4.7 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:

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 most successful
companies, giving them access to one of the deepest pools of capital in the
world.

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.

•   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 seven 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



May 2005


                                          2005                             2004
DOMESTIC EQUITY TRADING                   Month        Year to date        Month        Year to date

Equity Trading Value (£m)                    179,110       1,001,951          189,621       1,015,814
Number of Equity Trades                    4,863,644      25,304,131        4,085,434      22,632,074


INTERNATIONAL EQUITY TRADING

Equity Trading Value (£m)                    204,162       1,035,713          199,065       1,023,417
Number of Equity Trades                    1,342,827       6,325,621          881,289       4,837,603



ORDER BOOK TRADING

Order Book Value (£m)                          73,050         393,091           71,022           375,432
Order Book Trades                           4,010,602      20,235,921        3,107,728        16,333,810




                                                     May 2005                 May 2004

DOMESTIC MARKET CAPITALISATION (£bn)                                1,532                           1,371

TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPANIES                                           2,953                           2,711
Main Market UK                                       1,416                                          1,513
Main Market International                            340                                              369
of which techMARK                                    156                                              177
AIM                                                  1,197                                            829


                                            2005                            2004
MONEY RAISED (£m)                           Month       Year to date        Month      Year to date

New equity issues: UK Main Market and           1,033           2,779            334             1,640
AIM
Further, Rights and Other                         447           2,580          2,860             5,493
Bonds, Warrants, Fixed Interest                 8,996          60,214          9,449            59,318
New equity issues: International Main             312           1,346            268               487
Market
Further, Rights and Other                          75             143             11               122
Bonds, Warrants, Fixed Interest                 9,599          42,169         12,086            46,103


COMPANIES ADMITTED                                 43             254             29               120




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