Irish investors who have bought into the Nasdaq are in good company. The US electronic exchange has reported a 125 per cent jump in the value of shares traded in the first half of 2000 to $10.8 trillion. An estimated $4.8 trillion worth of shares were traded between January and June 1999. From April to June there were 90 initial public offerings on the Nasdaq exchange, notably Genuity, which raised $1.9 billion dollars, and SCG Holding Corporation, which raised $480 million. Thirty-five non-US companies joined Nasdaq in the second quarter, bringing the total number of listed foreign firms to 471.