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- Securities turnover edges higher alongside signs of economic recovery in Singapore
- Market participants manage risk round-the-clock on SGX even during regional holidays
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today released its market statistics for October 2020. Turnover edged higher for stocks in the medical and protective-equipment industries, while market participants continued to manage risk across multiple asset classes on the exchange even during regional holidays.
Total securities market turnover value rose 8% year-on-year (y-o-y) in October to S$23.2 billion, coinciding with signs of a sustained recovery of manufacturing in the Singapore economy. A number of mid-cap industrial stocks with exposure to China benefitted from increased trading activity, with growth extending to industrial-focused real estate investment trusts (REITs). Technology stocks continued to rank amongst the top actives. Securities daily average value (SDAV) climbed 8% y-o-y to S$1.1 billion.
The market turnover value of exchange-traded funds (ETF) on SGX surged 54% y-o-y in October to S$363 million. During the month, SGX welcomed the listing of the Phillip SGD Money Market ETF, Southeast Asia’s first money market ETF. The ICBC CSOP FTSE Chinese Government Bond Index ETF, the world’s largest Chinese pure government bond ETF, surpassed US$1 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Total funds raised from equity and bond listings on SGX reached S$37.7 billion in October. Nanofilm Technologies International Ltd., a leading provider of nanotechnology solutions in Asia, listed on SGX’s Mainboard in October. The home-grown deep technology firm closed 12% higher at its opening and advanced further in the month. SGX-listed companies continued to tap the equity capital markets with secondary fundraising of S$2 billion, up 88% y-o-y. Broad momentum in bond listings continued into October, led by issuers from China and Singapore.
Active risk-management participation
Market participants were able to manage their positions across multiple asset classes round-the-clock on SGX, even during China’s Golden Week holiday at the start of October.
SGX FTSE China A50 Index Futures traded volume rose 3% y-o-y in October to 5.96 million contracts, amidst a 1% decline in total equity index futures volume to 12.1 million contracts. SGX Nifty 50 Index Futures increased 17% to 2 million contracts, while MSCI Singapore Index Futures climbed 7% to 947,292 contracts.
During the month, SGX FTSE Taiwan Index Futures – the fastest-growing equity derivatives product on SGX – was approved by the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan for trading by Taiwan onshore brokers and traders, building on earlier certification by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. With the support of SGX clearing members, participants managing their Taiwan equity market exposure were able to seamlessly migrate positions to SGX FTSE Taiwan Index Futures. Since its introduction in July, the contract has established itself as the world’s leading offshore Taiwan equity index price return futures, with open interest at US$5 billion and average daily turnover of US$2.1 billion.
SGX USD/CNH Futures traded volume rose 17% y-o-y in October to 741,756 contracts, leading a 4% increase in total foreign exchange (FX) futures volume to 1.9 million contracts. Volatility in the offshore renminbi spiked on the back of measures by the People’s Bank of China to further liberalise the nation’s currency. SGX INR/USD Futures traded volume was 4% lower at 1.1 million contracts, in line with reduce volatility in the overall offshore listed market for the Indian rupee.
SGX’s global pricing benchmark for natural rubber gained as constraints in physical supply coincided with a recovery in automobile sales in China, the world’s biggest rubber consumer. SGX SICOM rubber futures trading volume jumped 63% y-o-y to 194,198 contracts, the highest since March.
Total commodity derivatives traded volume on SGX climbed 3% y-o-y in October to 1.5 million contracts. SGX’s bellwether iron ore derivatives were down 10% y-o-y at 1.1 million, reflecting reduced hedging demand amid China’s Golden Week. Forward freight agreements (FFA) traded volume gained 20% y-o-y to a three-month high of 92,305 contracts, while petrochemical derivatives surged 175% y-o-y to 2,488 contracts.
The full report can be found here.
