Equity underwriting on European exchanges rose 22%YoY in H1 2024 on the back of a moderate increase in secondary equity offerings (14%) and a large annual increase in IPOs.

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) saw a large percentage increase of 385% YoY which, however, represented a small amount of only €11.5bn raised in H1 2024, below the H1 average of €16bn observed since 2010.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) declined when measured as completed value (-12%) but rose when measured as announced value (45%), which may anticipate a robust outlook for European M&A.

Average daily equity trading on European main markets and MTFs rose 5% YoY. Recent trends show a deterioration in market liquidity as measured by turnover ratio (turnover value/market cap), with a decline from c150% in 2018 to 125% in 2024.

DVC Update: The Double Volume Cap (DVC) mechanism seeks to limit equity trading under the reference price waiver and the negotiated transaction waiver on EU venues. 

According to ESMA, the number of instruments suspended under the DVC has roughly stabilised since March 2023, with 216 suspended instruments (177 at EU Level and 39 at TV level) as of September 2024.