The Tribune

THE Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) reported yesterday that its trading volume for the six months to end-June 30 more than doubled over the same period last year to roughly 2.8 billion shares.

BISX reported that its All-Share Index closed at 1,311.53, representing a year-to-date decrease of 53.46 or 3.92 per cent. But this was a smaller decline than for the same six-month period in 2011, when the BISX All-Share Index closed at 1,410.58 - a decrease of 88.93 or 5.93 per cent.

The data generally indicates that BISX, and the Bahamian equities market, have hit bottom and may be poised to come out the other side, with trading volumes and values for the 2012 first half well ahead of their 2011 comparatives.

BISX reported that trading volumes were 2.828 million shares for a value of $12.179 million. By comparison, trading volume for the six-month period ending June 30, 2011, was 1.248 million shares for a value of $6.945 million.

Trading volume for the three-month period April 1, 2012. to June 30, 2012, was 1.679 million shares for a value of $6.891 million. Trading volume for the same three-month period in 2011 was 605,721 shares for a value of $3.687 million.
 BISX said: “During the six month period ended June 30, 2012, the average volume per trading day was 22,395 shares for an average value of $96,588.

“May saw the largest average daily trading volume, and value during that period with 41,072 shares trading on average, for an average value of $149,795.

“By comparison, during the six-month period ended June 30, 2011, the average volume per trading day was 10,098 shares for an average value of $56,594. April saw the largest average daily trading volume and value during the six-month period ending June 30, 2011, with 18,379 shares trading for $113,986.”

BISX currently features 26 primary market listings with a collective market capitalisation of $2.745 billion. The primary market securities traded over BISX include 19 common share listings, three preference share listings and four tranches of debt.

BISX reported that the top five share value leaders for the six-month period ending June 30, 2012 were Commonwealth Bank (CBL) with a trade value of $6.1 million or 50.2 per cent; Freeport Oil Holdings Company (FOCOL) with a trade value of $1.2 million or 10.6 per cent; Cable Bahamas (CAB) with a trade value of $988,977 or 8.1 per cent;Finance Corporation of the Bahamas (FINCO) with a trade value of $684,765 or 5.6 per cent; and Commonwealth Brewery with a trade value of $474,313 or 3.9 per cent.