Open interest for FKLI as at end of Wednesday was recorded at 34,306, with an overall open interest of 105,889 for all contracts. These figures also represented the highest open interest ever recorded on the Malaysian derivatives market.
The record volume for FKLI was largely driven by foreign institutions taking positions ahead of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), combined with the rolling over of positions ahead of the expiration of spot month contracts. Total institutional trading comprised approximately 85% of total volume traded on Wednesday.
Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia Berhad said, “Favourable market conditions and the reduction of the contract size have led to a more diverse base of participants in the FKLI market. This in turn has led to increased trading opportunities for new market entrants thereby creating significant momentum in this benchmark index futures contract. We expect greater interest in the Derivatives Exchange with the impending launch of Single Stock Futures”.
Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange Berhad intends to launch futures on selected listed companies in the 2nd quarter of this year.
