The Singapore Exchange S68 (SGX) Group has reported a total securities market turnover value of $20.56 billion in January 2024, 6.6% lower y-o-y but 8.15% higher m-o-m.
January had a total of 629 listed securities compared to 632 in December 2023 and 647 in January 2023.
Total market capitalisation also fell to $773.78 billion, down 9.4% y-o-y and 3.56% m-o-m. That said, Singapore’s equities market remained the second-most actively traded in Southeast Asia with net buying seen by by retail investors across indices, REITs and small- and mid-cap stocks.
The market turnover value of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) fell by 19% y-o-y but grew by 5% m-o-m to $291 million in January. Singapore’s first active ETF, the Lion-Nomura Japan Active ETF was listed with assets under management (AUM) of $37 million in the same month. According to SGX, the ETF has attracted new net inflows of $10 million since its launch.
Turnover of structured warrants and daily leverage certificates (DLC) surged by 72.5% y-o-y and 57% m-o-m in January to S$721 million. The number of unique active accounts trading structured warrants grew 43% m-o-m, the highest since July 2021.
Meanwhile, derivatives daily average volume (DDAV) rose by 4.87% y-o-y and 9.26% m-o-m to 1.14 million contracts. Derivatives traded volume rose by 27% y-o-y and 16.1% m-o-m to 24.6 million contracts, the highest since March 2022. The higher volume came from strong increases across equities, foreign exchange (forex) and commodities, says SGX.
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On SGX Equity Derivatives, total equity index futures volume rose 11% y-o-y in January to 14.6 million. The volume of SGX FTSE China A50 Index Futures increased 27% y-o-y to 9.4 million contracts, the highest since June 2022. The increase came amid heightened institutional risk management as China’s government took steps to support the economic recovery and reassure investors. The contract is the world’s most liquid international futures for Chinese equities.
The volume for SGX FTSE Taiwan Index Futures climbed 37% y-o-y at 1.6 million contracts in January. The increase came on the back of strong earnings from the technology sector. GIFT Nifty Futures volume gained 11% m-o-m to 1.7 million contracts, boosting daily average volume to a record US$3.6 billion ($4.86 billion) as global funds continued to be drawn to India.
Forex saw record activity on the SGX in January with total futures volume at 4.3 million contracts, 57% higher y-o-y. SGX USD/CNH Futures volume more than doubled to 2.6 million contracts while open interest in the contract reached a notional US$18.5 billion on Jan 22, a single-day record high. The SGX USD/CNH Futures is the world’s most widely traded international renminbi futures.
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Open interest in SGX INR/USD Futures achieved a daily record of 167,221 lots on Jan 26 on increased portfolio hedging, ahead of the Indian government’s February announcement of its interim budget.
Commodity derivatives traded volume surged by 82% y-o-y to 5.2 million contracts while benchmark iron ore derivatives volume spiked by 88% y-o-y to 4.7 million contracts. Forward freight agreement (FFA) volume grew by 27% y-o-y. The volume of SGX SICOM Rubber Futures, the global pricing bellwether for natural rubber, rose 60% y-o-y to 247,091 contracts. Petrochemical derivatives volume more than trebled y-o-y.
On SGX fixed income, the exchange issued $24.3 billion from 60 new bond listings in January. These included a US$2.05 billion three-tranche bond offering by the Republic of Indonesia; a US$2 billion three-tranche bond offering by The Export-Import Bank of Korea, which includes a three-year sustainability tranche; a JPY200 billion ($1.79 billion) dual-tranche convertible bonds by Daiwa House Industry Co.; and US$1.04 billion perpetual subordinated notes by Sumitomo Life Insurance Company.
As at end-January, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed at 3,153.01 points, 2.7% lower m-o-m.
Shares in SGX closed 6 cents higher or 0.66% up at $9.15 on Feb 14.
