Trading on the Montreal Exchange is showing solid growth, up 23% for the first nine months of 2003. As of September 30, the average daily volume reached 70,125 contracts compared to 57,230 contracts for the same period in 2002.

On a daily basis, the nominal value traded on the ME surpasses the $20 billion mark.

A new monthly record was established in September, with 83,966 contracts traded, on average, on a daily basis. This record is mostly attributable to the level of transactions in equity options, which has grown by 27% over the same month last year.

The equity options on Nortel Networks Corp., Bombardier Inc., and ATI Technologies Inc. were the most active during the month of September.