Market Report - May 2006

London Stock Exchange Group PLC
08 June 2006


News Release



8 June 2006
MR59-5.06

                  VALUE OF SETS TRADES UP 107 PER CENT IN MAY
                   New records set across Exchange's markets


Trading on the London Stock Exchange's markets set new records during May 2006.
The average daily value traded on SETS reached a new high of £7.6 billion, up
107 per cent on the value traded during May last year.  The average daily number
of trades was also a record, an increase of 87 per cent to 375,354.  For the
month as a whole, there were 7.9 million trades on SETS with a combined value of
£158.8 billion.


May accounted for the three busiest days ever on SETS by both number of trades
and value traded. On 23 May, the busiest day, the number of trades on SETS
exceeded 500,000 for the first time, and the value traded reached a record £9.8
billion.


Included in the SETS figures, both SETSmm and the International Order Book (IOB)
had an excellent month.  The average daily number of trades on SETSmm increased
183 per cent on May 2005 to 81,497, while the average daily value traded
increased 169 per cent to £676.8 million.  The average daily value traded on the
IOB increased 432 per cent to £346.0 million, and the average daily number of
trades on the IOB more than trebled to 3,700.


Trading in ETFs also continued to grow very strongly.  The total value traded
during the month grew 214 per cent on May 2005 to a record £1.9 billion.  The
total number of ETF trades, meanwhile, increased 239 per cent  to 32,071.



The value traded in covered warrants and structured products during the month
was £156.0 million, up 45 per cent from May last year.  The total number of
trades was up 209 per cent to 11,861.



During May, there were five IPOs on the Main Market raising £1.2 billion between
them.  This included one international IPO, raising £128.6 million.  There were
31 IPOs on AIM during the month, which raised a total of £1.2 billion.



So far this year, the Exchange has attracted 169 IPOs raising a total of £9.8
billion between them, more than twice the £3.9 billion raised in the first five
months of 2005.  This total comprises 36 Main Market IPOs, which have raised
£5.1 billion between them, 130 AIM IPOs, which have raised £4.2 billion between
them, and 3 GDRs on the Professional Securities Market which raised £527.3
million.



RNS, the Exchange's service for the dissemination of company news, transmitted
an average of 744 announcements per day, up 27 per cent on May 2005.  An average
of 282 news and results announcements were disseminated each day, representing
an 87 per cent share of all company news and results announcements made in the
UK.



There were 21 trading days during May 2006, one more than in May 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
                                        May 2006                         May 2005
DOMESTIC EQUITY TRADING                 Month        Year to date        Month        Year to date

Equity Trading Value (£m)                    316,791       1,418,773          179,110       1,001,951
Number of Equity Trades                    8,982,978      36,017,785        4,863,644      25,304,131


INTERNATIONAL EQUITY TRADING

Equity Trading Value (£m)                    290,620       1,462,761          204,162       1,035,713
Number of Equity Trades                    1,518,292       8,577,687        1,342,827       6,325,621


ORDER BOOK TRADING

Order Book Value (£m)                         158,831         641,986            73,050         393,091
Order Book Trades                           7,882,434      30,398,986         4,010,602      20,235,921


                                                      May 2006                 May 2005

DOMESTIC MARKET CAPITALISATION (£bn)                                 1,862                           1,532

TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPANIES                                            3,189                           2,953
Main Market UK                                        1,326                    1,416
Main Market International                                325                      340
of which techMARK                                        144                      156
AIM                                                   1,528                     1,197
Professional Securities Market (Equity only)          10                       -


                                                May 2006                         May 2005
MONEY RAISED (£m)                              Month       Year to date         Month        Year to date


Equity Money Raised:
  New issues: Main Market UK                         1,089           2,407               493         1,285
  New issues: Main Market International                129           2,681               312         1,346
  New issues:  AIM                                   1,264           4,410               540         1,494
  Further issues: Main Market UK                     1,572           3,294             1,028         2,604
  Further issues: Main Market                           45             662                75           143
International
  Further issues: AIM                                  886           2,876               169           760
  PSM (new & further, UK & International)                -             527                 -             -

COMPANIES ADMITTED                                                                        43              254
                                                    48           244

Debt Money Raised (£m)
  Main Market UK                                                                       8,246           59,431
                                                   9,062       55,202
  Main Market International                                                            9,599           42,169
                                                  16,923       84,611
  PSM (  PSM (UK & International)                                                          -                -
                                                    343         7,293




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