§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the performance of the London stock exchange since January in comparison to other leading stockmarkets. [105349]
§ Ruth KellyPerformance of UK stock market indices has been comparable with performance of US indices and better than European indices since January 2003. Between 2 January 2003 and 24 March 2003, the FTSE All-Share index declined around 7 per cent., compared with a 5 per cent. decline in the S&P 500, a 15 per cent. decline in the French CAC-40 and an 18 per cent. decline in the German DAX. Falls in UK market capitalisation since January have been smaller than in Europe but greater than in the US. Increases in the volume of shares traded on the FTSE All-Share index since January have been greater than US and German volume increases but less than French volume increases.