KEY POINTS:
The total value of trading on the New Zealand sharemarket in 2008 was 18 per cent down on 2007 to $28 billion, figures from operator NZX show.
As markets around the globe were confronted with the worst financial turmoil in decades, the total number of trades on the NZX fell 5 per cent for the year to about 591,000.
For just the month of December, the total value traded was down 32 per cent from December 2007 to $1.39b, while the total number of trades was down 12 per cent to about 37,700, the figures released today show.
Despite the big drop from a year ago, December's figures show some improvements from those a month earlier. In November the total value traded was down 57 per cent from a year earlier and the number of trades was down 25 per cent, although the absolute number and value of trades was higher in November than December.
For all of 2008, total trades on the main NZSX market were down 5 per cent from 2007 to about 556,000, with the value traded down 20 per cent to $26b.
On the NZDX debt market, total trades rose 5 per cent in 2008 to above 31,600, with the value up 41 per cent to $1.9b. On the NZAX alternative market total trades were down 47 per cent to below 3100, with the value down 54 per cent to $18 million.
During 2008 $1.03b in new equity was raised, along with $2.08b in new debt. Of those totals, $149m of the equity and $139m of the debt was raised in December.
The NZX 50 index fell 33 per cent during the year, the NZX 15 was down 35 per cent and the NZAX All index was down 30 per cent.
- NZPA
