Iseq records best year since 1997

The Iseq index of Irish shares recorded its best performance since 1997 last year, rising by 33.6 per cent.

The index was also the best performer in Western Europe, outperforming the FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC. It also outperformed the leading US indices, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in what was a good year overall for global equity markets.

Irish Stock Exchange statistics released today show high demand for Irish shares , evident in the number of trades dealt on the ISE during 2013.

At 3.4 million deals, 2013 is the highest ever number of equity trades in the ISE’s history, and over 40 per cent higher than 2012.

A total of €1.2 billion raised in last quarter of 2013 including €580 million raised by Bank of Ireland. The last quarter also saw three new companies join the Irish Stock Exchange - Mincon, GameAccount Network and Hibernia REIT.