- Elevated volatility drives trading activity in equity derivatives, record FX futures volume
- Securities market turnover rises to highest in two-and-a-half years
Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) today released its market statistics for August 2024. Elevated volatility following the market dislocation in the earlier part of the month drove trading activity in equity derivatives as well as record foreign exchange (FX) futures volume.
Derivatives traded volume rose 4% year-on-year (y-o-y) in August to 24.6 million contracts, with daily average volume (DAV) up 8% y-o-y at 1.1 million contracts. Securities daily average value (SDAV) climbed 28% y-o-y to S$1.4 billion, as market turnover increased 22% y-o-y to S$28.8 billion – the highest since March 2022.
Key highlights:
- Retail investors’ net purchases hit new high in 2024: On SGX Securities, retail investors net purchased S$685 million, the highest in 10 months, adding positions in index stocks as well as small and mid-caps. Cash SDAV climbed 20% m-o-m in August to S$1.3 billion, the highest since March 2022. Growth in activity originated from both institutional and retail clients and across stock segments. Over the volatile first five trading days of August, Singapore’s stock market was consistently the most actively traded among ASEAN peers. Year-to-date returns from the Straits Times Index (STI) stood at 6.7%, even as the benchmark declined 0.4% m-o-m to 3,442.93.
- More FX futures records: SGX USD/CNH FX Futures traded volume gained 25% y-o-y in August to 3.4 million contracts, lifting total futures volume on SGX FX by 33% y-o-y to a record 5.6 million contracts. DAV of SGX KRW/USD FX Futures rose to a new high of 17,483 lots, a 66.5% jump month-on-month (m-o-m), as the effect of the yen carry trade unwind spilled over to other funding currencies.
- Liquid and accessible equities venue: Through the volatility in early August across both cash and derivatives, SGX Equity Derivatives provided global investors with continuous price discovery even as trading limits were triggered in onshore markets. SGX Nikkei 225 Index Futures volume increased 8% in August on both a y-o-y and m-o-m basis to 933,551 contracts. GIFT Nifty derivatives traded volume climbed 18% y-o-y to 2 million contracts, with month-end open interest (OI) at a record 293,258 lots (US$15 billion notional).
- Broad-based commodities gains: On SGX Commodities, total derivatives traded volume rose 20% y-o-y in August to 6.1 million contracts, with increases across bellwether iron ore, petrochemicals and SICOM rubber contracts amid greater hedging demand. Petrochemicals volume surged 91% y-o-y to the equivalent of a record 2.35 million metric tonnes, spurred by a growing base of participants. OI in dairy derivatives averaged 163,048 contracts, setting a new high for a fourth month.
- Growing adoption of new Japan interest-rate hedging tool: On SGX Fixed Income, traded volume of three-month Tokyo Overnight Average Rate (TONA) Futures reached 37,090 contracts in August, with month-end OI of 865 contracts. The contract was launched on 29 July, building upon SGX’s offering of long-term interest rate futures comprising 10-year Full-Sized and Mini Japan Government Bond (JGB) futures.
The full market statistics report can be found here.
