Three companies graduated from TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange in February 2003. That’s just one of the highlights from the small-cap exchange’s summary report for the month released Tuesday.

The total number of YTD graduates has increased to five. This represents 35.7% of the senior market’s new listings this year compared to 25% for the same period last year.

As of February 28, there were 418 financing deals on the TSX venture market that raised a total of $319.7 million, an increase of 72.4% from the same time last year of $185.1 million through 384 financing deals.

The average size of the financings increased from $480,000 to $760,000 compared to a year ago, an increase of 58.3%.

The Mining sector led the way in financing, raising a total of $144 million (representing 45% of the total YTD). The Oil & Gas sector followed closely with $104.9 million financing (representing 33% of the total). The Technology sector captured 13% of the financing market with $41.5 million raised as of the end of February 2003.

Shellcase Ltd., a technology company, completed the largest single financing as of the end of February 2003, raising US$13.2 million through a private placement. Aventura Energy Inc. was next, raising a total of $12 million through a private placement in January 2003.

There were three new listings in February. Year-to-date new listings declined 65% compared to the same period last year.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed at 1,106.55 on February 28. This represented an increase of 3% since the beginning of 2003.

The rise in the benchmark compares favorably with other North American indices: S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.9%, the Nasdaq composite was down 1.3% and the Dow Jones industrial average was down 5.4% since the beginning of January 2003.