Market Report - April 2003

London Stock Exchange Plc
09 May 2003


9 May 2003

MONTHLY MARKET REPORT FOR APRIL 2003



                    NUMBER OF SETS TRADES CONTINUES TO RISE



The number of trades on SETS(TM), the London Stock Exchange's electronic order
book, increased to 2.49 million in April 2003, 55 per cent higher than the 1.61
million trades in April 2002.  The value traded on SETS decreased by eight per
cent to £52.8 billion in April 2003, down from £57.2 billion in April 2002.



The average daily number of trades on SETS was 63 per cent higher at 124,450, up
from 76,552 in April 2002.  SETS achieved a 64.8 per cent share of eligible
trades by value in April 2003, compared with 59.3 per cent in April 2002.



The total number of UK and international trades on the Exchange in April 2003
was 4.29 million, up from 4.18 million in April 2002. There were 20 business
days in April 2003 compared with 21 in April 2002.



A year on year decline in the number of international trades to 800,450 in April
2003, down from 1.21 million trades in April 2002, was offset by a 17 per cent
increase in the number of UK trades to 3.49 million, compared with 2.97 million
in April 2002.



On the primary market there were 16 new issues during April 2003, 6 of which
were IPOs - 3 on the Main Market and 3 on AIM, raising £66.6 million.  This
compares with 12 IPOs in April 2002 - 7 on the Main Market and 5 on AIM.



                                    - Ends -



For further information, please contact:

John Wallace                         Press Office   [phone]




Notes to editors:



• About the London Stock Exchange:



The London Stock Exchange is one of the world's leading equity exchanges 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 2002, the
market capitalisation of UK and international companies on its markets amounted
to £3.1 trillion, with £4.6 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.



• SETS - the electronic order book.



It is now five 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.





LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE

MONTHLY FACTSHEET FIGURES

April 2003


                                                     2003                             2002
DOMESTIC EQUITY TRADING                         Month    Year to date            Month    Year to date

Equity Trading Value (£m)                     133,683         551,901          164,129         614,143
Number of Equity Trades                     3,488,392      14,710,575        2,970,953      11,416,855


INTERNATIONAL EQUITY TRADING

Equity Trading Value (£m)                     122,404         545,844          263,121       1,007,342
Number of Equity Trades                       800,450       3,642,102        1,209,001       5,198,504




ORDER BOOK TRADING

Order Book Value £m                              52,784         227,370           57,189         215,012
Order Book Trades                             2,489,005      10,823,918        1,607,602       6,243,673


                                                                 April 2003                  April 2002

DOMESTIC MARKET CAPITALISATION £bn                                    1,163                       1,538


TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPANIES                                             2,760                       2,877
UK list                                                1,649                    1,792
Foreign                                                406                      441
AIM                                                    705                      644
of which techMARK                                      203                      236




                                                     2003                            2002
MONEY RAISED £m                                 Month    Year to date          Month    Year to date

UK & AIM New Issues Equity                         73             109            289           1,938
Further, Rights and Other                          83             710          1,679           5,774
Bonds, Warrants, Fixed Interest                 8,258          35,621          9,175          28,065
Int. New Issues Equity                              -               -              -               -
Further, Rights and Other                       3,783           3,908          1,074           1,248
Bonds, Warrants, Fixed Interest                 7,774          31,902          5,540          25,098


COMPANIES ADMITTED                                 16              42             21              73




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