(April 25 – 12:20 ET) – The Investment Dealers Association has released its 2000 annual market activity report for equity new issues and trading. The report details new issues and trading activity in the latest quarter and for all of 2000, both of which were up from the previous quarter and year-over-year.

Trading activity on Canadian stock exchanges set a new high for the eighth straight year. The Canadian Venture Capital Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange were two of only 10 exchanges worldwide to post positive returns with the CDNX placing second and the TSE sixth out of 48 exchanges.

Canadian capital markets raised $20.8 billion in common equity with 38% of the total going to the high-tech manufacturing sector.

IPOs reached a record high of $5.4 billion, up 22% from 1999. Individual IPO size has almost doubled in the last two years to $24 million. IPO issuance by Canadian companies in the United States rose 220% over 1999 levels to $3.4 billion.

Foreigners were net sellers of Canadian stocks in the fourth quarter, reversing a purchasing trend that had held for the better part of five years. Net purchases of foreign stocks by Canadians totalled $59 billion in 2000, compared to $20.5 billion in 1999, setting a new record. Higher foreign content limits for RRSPs was partly responsible for this trend.

The IDA report is available at www.ida.ca under the “What’s New” link.