LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE LEFT BEHIND Euronext Amsterdam has become the most important European stock center

Euronext Amsterdam, the Amsterdam stock exchange, overtook the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in January 2021, becoming the largest European stock trading center, as Brexit forced EU investors to use platforms within the EU bloc.

According to Reuters, data from CBOE Europe, a platform that operates in both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, show that the average value of daily transactions at Euronext Amsterdam was 9.2 billion euros ($ 11.15 billion) in the month of January 2021, compared to 8.6 billion euros one the LSE.

For comparison, over the course of 2020, the median value of the turnover in London was 17.5 billion Euros, and in Amsterdam - 2.6 billion Euros, amount which meant the Dutch exchange was only ranked sixth in the exchanges chart. The Frankfurt stock exchange came in second last year, with 5.9 billion Euros a day.

It bears mentioning that the situation could change, given that in February 2021, trading in Swiss stocks in Great Britain resumed. These transactions have reached a median of 250 million Euros a day, and analysts expect it to increase to over 1 billion Euros a day, the leve seen before trading in Swiss stocks in London was stopped in June 2019.

The rise of Euronext Amsterdam was predicted by the fact that the pan-European exchange Cboe, as well as the Turquoise trading platform of London Stock Exchange have begun making preparations to open hubs in the capital of Holland after Great Britain voted, in 2016, in favor of exiting the EU.

According to Cboe data, starting on January 4, 2021, daily turnover of over 6 billion Euros have moved from London to exchanges headquartered in the EU, and simultaneously, there has been an increase in trading on national exchanges.

Brussels officials have stressed that they want a transfer from London of financial activities denominated in Euros, so that the EU has its own capital market over which Brussels has direct supervision. Also, the trading of some derivative instruments moved from London to Amsterdam, and recently, stock exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange Inc. announced that the market for European greenhouse gas emission certificates will be transferred from London to Amsterdam.

• Analysts have predicted that London is at risk of losing its crown of the European trading center

In January, Financial Times (FT) wrote that London was at risk of losing its top position as the European trading center after Brexit, and the fact that Polish e-commerce group chose Euronext Amsterdam to get listed proves it. According to FT, at the time, bankers were saying that Amsterdam had the potential to surpass London as the European hub of capital markets as EU stock trading moved from London to European centers, including the aforementioned Dutch city, on the first day the UK placed itself outside the single market in the beginning of the year 2021.

Specialists think that the flexibility of the market and international coverage for major businesses shows that the Dutch financial center can absorb the trading that would otherwise move towards London.

Rene van Vlerken, the head of the listings division of Euronext Amsterdam, was saying that it was placing emphasis on attracting IPOs and liquidity for the entire Euronext network, which spreads across countries such as France, Portugal and Belgium.

Euronext hosted only two initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2020, compared to 36 in London (including dual listings), according to Dealogic data. However, one of the listings in Amsterdam, that of conglomerate JDE Peet's, on the coffee market, was the largest in Europe, from 2018 until now, attracting 2.3 billion euros. The listing, which was held during the lockdown period, in May 2020, was the first of more than one billion euros to take place virtually, with the roadshow lasting only three days, compared to 14, normally. About 90% of the investments in this transaction came from outside the Netherlands.

• E-commerce company Coolblue is getting ready for a listing on Euronext

Dutch investment company HAL Trust is considering listing the shares of the Coolblue online store on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange this year. HAL has a 49% stake in Coolblue, which last year reported revenues of about 2 billion euros ($ 2.43 billion) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 114 million euros.

The initial public offering will depend, among other things, on financial market conditions, HAL said on January 11.

• Profit and revenues of the Euronext group have increased 30% last year

Revenues of pan-European group Euronext have increased 30.2% last year, to 884.3 million Euros, as did its profit (EBITDA), which reached 520 million Euros.

At the time of the publishing of the financials, last week, Stephane Boujnah, the CEO of the exchange operator said: "Euronext had solid results in the fourth quarter and throughout 2020, with a two figure increase in revenues, EBITDA and adjusted earnings per share. This increase comes from the ability of Euronext to create value in a volatile trading environment, consolidating its market position, and from our constant diversification, especially in post-trading activities, which now represent the second largest income generator of revenues for the group. Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, Euronext demonstrated in 2020 that we are a resilient provider of solutions for the financial ecosystem and a creator of value for our shareholders. Through product innovation, the group has significantly transformed its business mix.

Euronext's revenues from listings increased by 12.8% last year, to 145.5 million euros, and those from trading, 33.8%, to 365.1 million euros.

Recall that in October 2020, London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSEG), the LSE operator, decided to sell Borsa Italiana to Euronext for 4.325 billion euros, in a deal that gave rise to the largest listing platform in Europe".

Euronext, which operates the stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Paris and Oslo, has submitted a takeover bid together with Italian banks Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA (CDP, owned by the state) and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA. Following the deal, Euronext became the owner of the Italian stock exchange, and CDP and Intesa obtained a holding in Euronext: CDP - 7.3%, and Intesa - about 1.3%. Thus, the stake of over 8% of the two Italian banks will be similar to that held by the French state institution Caisse des Depots et Consignations in the pan-European operator.

The deal is expected to be completed by June, after the approval of some regulatory authorities.

One in five Americans speculating in the stock market, given the pandemic

The booming markets and the lack of other places to spend money during the Covid-19 pandemic have led Americans to turn to equity investments in the last months of last year, according to a poll conducted by the Conference Board organization, posted on markets.businessinsider.com.

It notes that one in five people in the US (20%) have invested in shares or mutual funds in the last three months of 2020, up from 15% in the second quarter. The poll also shows that fewer Americans have chosen to save or pay off their debts.

An increase in investor interest became apparent in the spring of 2020, when the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic kept people at home, were canceling sporting events and placed a damper on spending opportunities, especially for those who managed to keep their jobs.

Denise Dahlhoff, a senior researcher at the Conference Board, says Americans have more disposable income and fewer ways to spend, so they're turning to the stock market. "Stocks, which continue to produce solid returns, have become an increasingly attractive option for these consumers," said Denise Dahlhoff.

Billionaire investor Sam Zell also told CNBC recently that the stimulus checks which the government paid to Americans have aroused retail investors' interest in the stock market.

According to the Conference Board, 43% of Americans placed their money available in savings in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 49% in the second quarter. The survey also shows that 24% spent their money on home improvements, up 3 percentage points from the second quarter.

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Explicaţie Foto:

In 2014, Euronext exited its partnership with NYSE.

Euronext, which operates the exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Paris and Oslo, has its origins in the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, created in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company. Euronext was set up in 2000 by merging stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Paris and Brussels. Since then, the stock market has grown, and in 2007 merged with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), a partnership that operated under the name NYSE Euronext until 2014, when Euronext was forced to break away from the alliance, becoming a self-governing entity. standing. The detachment came as a result of the takeover of the NYSE by the Intercontinental Exchange, which decided to perform that spin-off. In 2018, Euronext bought the Irish Stock Exchange (Dublin), and a year later - Oslo Bors. Last year, the pan-European market acquired Borsa Italiana from the London Stock Exchange Group, the transaction being expected to be completed by June this year.