Europe’s stock and derivative exchanges have given the latest signal that confidence is returning to the financial markets by reporting strong trading figures for April, with volumes in some cases returning to levels not recorded since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September.

Transatlantic exchange NYSE Euronext said it performed 1.6 million trades per day in its European markets in April, up 7.8% from the previous month and 15.5% more than the same month last year.