NZSX trades jump by 20pc

The number of trades on the New Zealand Exchange jumped 20 per cent last month from the previous November, boosted by this year's plethora of new listings and a flush of investing money.

Last month saw 56,279 NZSX trades compared with 47,002 for November last year - an increase of 19.74 per cent. The 12-month average is 48,827.

The value of trades (including rights) was $2.42 billion compared with a previous $1.70 billion. This was up 42.55 per cent and higher than the 12-month average of $2.11 billion.

NZX head Mark Weldon said the higher numbers were due to new products and more investors. There had been no one particular event in November to spike the figures.

"It's more of a natural increase driven by more listings. There are more companies for people to invest in and more people investing in the market," he said.

The number of New Zealand listed issuers rose from 167 in November last year to 188, while the number of overseas listed issuers fell from 63 to 57.

There were four new equity issuers last month, bringing the year-to-date total to 29.

The number of ordinary shares quoted on the NZSX market was two lower at 187. There have been 22 additions for the year to date and 19 removals.

The total market capitalisation rose 22 per cent to $62.26 billion.

The NZSX 50 index value was also higher - up 27.5 per cent to end November at 2991 compared with 2346 for the previous November.

Weldon said investors saw the NZSX as a "pretty good hedge" against some reasonably uncertain times in the US and in Europe.

NZX's other markets also recorded positive performances.

The nominal value of the NZDX market was $6.54 billion last month compared with $5.54 billion for the same month in the previous year - an increase of 18 per cent. The number of trades fell 9 per cent to 1966 from 2155 a year earlier.

The NZAX market booked 570 trades last month, worth a combined $2.5 million. It is not a year old so comparisons are not available.