Although the price of Nokia shares actually eroded somewhat on the year in 2003, it was otherwise a good 12 months for the Helsinki Exchanges

Although the price of Nokia shares actually eroded somewhat on the year in 2003, it was otherwise a good 12 months for the Helsinki Exchanges. Of the roughly 100 stocks on the main list in Helsinki, the majority showed gains, and only 12 companies saw their market capitalisation decline. Many professional investors ended the year with a handsome profit. The actual value of trading in Helsinki fell in 2003 for the third successive year. The peak time was at the height of the IT-stocks boom in 2000, after which aggregate trading measured in euros has declined steadily each year. According to figures put out by HEX Integrated Markets, the average daily turnover was EUR 579 million, down appreciably from the daily figure of EUR 905 million in 2000. One reason is that the number of listed companies has fallen, through mergers and acquisitions. Five companies left the bourse in 2003, and one new company was listed. For all that Nokia ended the year 9.5% lower than in January 2003, it was not such a bad year all round. The HEX Index is heavily dominated by the fortunes of the Nokia stock (Nokia's market capitalisation currently accounts for more than 60% of the total value of the other companies on the Main List), and the HEX fluctuated wildly during the year, reflecting investor interest in the mobile phones giant. If the HEX Index is used as an indicator, Helsinki did not perform very well, ending the period more or less at the same level as it began it, just over 6,000 points.