The London Stock Exchange is reporting a further decline in the number of terminals receiving exchange data during the final three months of 2002.
In an otherwise buoyant set of trading data, the Exchange says desktop terminal numbers fell from 100,000 to 98,000 (31 December 2001: 107,000), of which approximately 91,000 terminals were attributable to professional users (30 September 2002: 94,000; 31 December 2001: 98,000).
For the nine months ended 31 December 2002, turnover in the Exchange's information services division increased 7 per cent from £71.5 million to £76.7 million, supported by increased contribution from the Regulatory News Service and FTSE joint venture.
Turnover across the Exchange during Q3 increased to £59.4 million (2001: £55.6 million), representing 7 per cent growth over the same period last year. For the nine months ended 31 December 2002, turnover increased 10 per cent to £178.9 million (2001: £162.4 million).
The LSE's share price continues to hover around the 350 pence mark, consolidating recent gains made on the back of market speculation about a possible Deutsche Borse takeover bid. The Exchange is understood to have passed on data concerning its share price movements to the Financial Services Authority amid suspicions of profit-taking by market rampers.