The volume of trading doubled on the NZX's exchange in August, a month when global market volatility was heightened by Standard & Poor's downgrade to America's credit rating.
The total number of trades rose more than 100 per cent to 85,992 last month compared to the same month a year ago, the bourse operator said in a statement. The average number of daily trades was 3,739, a 92 per cent gain on August 2010, for an average turnover of $115 million, up 45 per cent.
Equity transactions led the way, with 82,504 trades, up 111 per cent from a year ago for a total value of $2.6 billion, while debt transactions fell 7.4 per cent to 3,488 for a total value of $76 million.
Total equity capitalisation, which includes the NZX's small-cap NZAX market, was $56.9 billion at the end of August, up 11 per cent from a year ago, but down from $57.3 billion in July.
A total of $56 million of new equity was raised on the NZX in August, taking the year-to-date total to $1.27 billion. Some $151 million of new debt was raised, for a year-to-date total of $612 million.
