If it feels like August already for stock market watchers, you might be right.
The number of trades made on the London Stock Exchange has dropped to levels not seen since the financial crisis sixteen years ago.
Monthly trades in May 2023 came in at just over 11mln, data from the LSE’s order book revealed.
The last time trading in May had dropped lower was in 2007 when 10.4mln trades were executed.
It represents almost a 50% drop from the 21mln trades made in 2022.
Trading in April was also at its lowest for 16 years at 9.9mln.
January, February, and March weren’t much better, all three months were at their quietest for trading since 2013.
In fact, trading in March, the busiest month in 2023 so far at 15.7mln, was 65% lower than in 2020 when a record 44.8mln trades were recorded – although this was likely influenced by the UK being thrown into lockdown three years ago.
It hasn’t just been trading volumes that have slowed down, IPOs have faltered in 2023 with both WE Soda and Arm Holdings deciding against a listing in the capital.
The last high-profile IPO in London was Oxford Nanopore Technologies in 2021.
To make matters worse numerous companies like Flutter, British American Tobacco and Shell are rumoured to be considering moving to the US.