“While the October, 1987, crash did not have a major impact on the Canadian economy, many retail investors limited their trading activity in 1988, thereby stagnating the rhythm of growth experienced by the ME in the last decade,” says the exchange in a press release containing preliminary figures for last year.
Whereas the junior mining resources sector fueled the market rush in 1987, trading activity last year seemed to shift more into senior companies.
The volume of shares traded on the ME last year totalled 1.29 billion, down 36.1% from 1987 but up 17.3% from 1986. The dollar value traded amounted to $15.2 billion, down 30.5% over 1987 and also down slightly from 1986. The number of equity transactions dropped almost 46% compared with 1987.
The average daily volume in 1988 was 5.1 million shares, compared with 8.1 million in 1987 and 4.3 million in 1986. The average dollar value traded per day was $60.3 million, compared with $86.5 million in 1987 and $63.5 million in 1986. Forty-nine new companies were added to the ME trading list last year.
The market portfolio index, comprising 25 stocks, peaked last year at 1,732.7 pts on July 6 and recorded a low of 1,489.64 pts on Feb 8. The mining and minerals index closed last year at 1,804.1 pts, up 13.1% from the 1987 close.
In 1988, activity on the ME increased to 18.2% of the total value traded on both the ME and Toronto Stock Exchange, up from 17.9% in 1987. In terms of total volume traded and transactions involving the two exchanges, in both cases the ME’s share dropped from the previous year. (The TSE is the most active market in Canada, responsible for about 80% of the nation’s stock trading.)
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