Market report - December 2004

London Stock Exchange Plc
12 January 2005


News Release

12 January 2005

MR42-12.04



     DECEMBER TRADING HIGHLIGHTS A STRONG 2004 ON THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE


The total value of equities traded on the London Stock Exchange during December
2004 was £382.5 billion, an increase of 26 per cent on December 2003. During the
month there were 5.75 million trades, an increase of 29 per cent on the same
month in 2003.


December's trading represented a strong finish to 2004.  During the year, the
total value of equities traded on the Exchange was £4.7 trillion, a 30 per cent
increase on the value traded in 2003.  The average daily value traded in 2004
was £18.6 billion, an increase of 29 per cent on the average daily value traded
the previous year.  There were 66.30 million trades on the Exchange during 2004,
an 18 per cent increase on the number of trades in 2003.  The average daily
number of trades across the Exchange in 2004 was up 18 per cent on 2003 to
261,011.


SETS saw an average of 167,158 trades each day during December 2004, amounting
to 3.51 million trades during the month with a total value of £64.7 billion.
This was an increase of 22 per cent in the value traded and 31 per cent in the
number of trades on SETS compared with December 2003.  The total value of
equities traded on SETS in 2004 was £878.6 billion, an increase of 23 per cent
on the value traded on SETS the previous year.   The average daily number of
trades on SETS throughout 2004 was 160,901, up 24 per cent on the previous year.


On SETSmm there were 334,738 order book trades during December, worth a total of
£3.5 billion.  This brought the total number of order book trades on SETSmm
during the year to 3.38 million, and the total value traded to £37.8 billion.


During 2004 there were 49,202 trades on the covered warrants market, worth a
total of £443.33 million.  This was a 74 per cent increase on the value traded
in covered warrants during 2003.  The total number of ETF trades in the year as
a whole rose 66 per cent to 104,412 whilst the value traded in ETFs during 2004
rose to £4.6 billion, an increase of 37 per cent on the value traded in 2003.


During December there were 7 IPOs on the London Stock Exchange's main market,
raising £724.93 million between them and 41 IPOs on AIM, raising £379.01
million.  Over the course of the year there were 293 IPOs, of which 50 were on
the main market and 243 were on AIM.  IPOs on the main market raised a total of
£4.8 billion between them, while AIM IPOs raised £2.4 billion.


By the end of 2004 there were 2,837 companies on the London Stock Exchange.  Of
these 1,816 companies were on the Main Market, including 351 international
companies and 1,021 were on AIM, including 116 international companies.


There were 21 trading days in December 2004, the same number as in December
2003.  There were 254 trading days in the year as a whole, compared with 253 in
2003.


                                    - 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 foremost 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 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.


•        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.


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]


•     IPO


An IPO or Initial Public Offering is when a new company joins our market and
raises capital by issuing shares.  This excludes transfers and introductions
(when companies join the market without raising money).


•      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


December 2004


                                        2004                             2003

DOMESTIC EQUITY TRADING                 Month        Year to date        Month        Year to date

Equity Trading Value (£m)                    171,717       2,316,194          147,396       1,876,922

Number of Equity Trades                    4,391,055      53,907,459        3,661,571      46,160,508


INTERNATIONAL EQUITY TRADING

Equity Trading Value (£m)                    210,806       2,403,406          156,923       1,759,120

Number of Equity Trades                    1,360,791      12,389,392          804,743       9,949,410



ORDER BOOK TRADING

Order Book Value (£m)                          64,737         878,633           53,159           715,169

Order Book Trades                           3,510,327      40,868,892        2,671,712        32,897,427



                                                     December 2004            December 2003


DOMESTIC MARKET CAPITALISATION (£bn)                                1,493                           1,374


TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPANIES                                           2,837                           2,692

UK list                                              1,465                    1,557

Foreign                                              351                      381

AIM                                                  1,021                    754

of which techMARK                                    168                      178

                                          2004                            2003
MONEY RAISED (£m)                         Month       Year to date        Month      Year to date


UK & AIM New Issues Equity                        629           6,171          1,206             3,487

Further, Rights and Other                         612           9,852            725             5,892

Bonds, Warrants, Fixed Interest                 9,552         128,372          6,958           118,837

Int. New Issues Equity                            593           1,364              -             1,134

Further, Rights and Other                         103             307          2,687             7,879

Bonds, Warrants, Fixed Interest                 5,611          90,180          6,394            94,650

COMPANIES ADMITTED                                 63             423             42               201


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