SINGAPORE (Oct 11): The month of September saw total securities market turnover inch up 2% to $19.7 billion, according to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) monthly release of market statistics.
In cash equities, securities daily average value (SDAV) in the Singapore equities market was down 3% y-o-y at $940 million. This was due primarily to declines in most Southeast Asian markets, despite the benchmark Straits Times Index registering a 0.5% increase in total returns.
According to the exchange, macroeconomic events such as interest rates cuts by the US Federal Reserve and Brexit were noted to have fanned concerns over global growth, resulting in slower equity market activity for the month.
SGX noted that global commodity markets continued to be buffeted by price volatility in September, which in turn fuelled demand for risk management. Iron ore derivatives volume surged 98% y-o-y to 1.57 million contracts in September on the back of increased hedging by financial and physical market participants, ahead of a week-long holiday in China that began on Oct 1.
SGX petrochemicals futures volume saw a 53% spike y-o-y as the broader oil complex gained following a geopolitical flashpoint in Saudi Arabia, which prompted the biggest single-day rally in crude prices in some 30 years.
In the foreign exchange (FX) markets, SGX USD/CNH futures volume jumped 74% y-o-y to 818,619 contracts amid signs of progress in US-China trade negotiations following the deferment of some tariffs. Similarly, there was a 23% y-o-y gain in SGX INR/USD futures volume to 1.41 million contracts on the back of an instituitional demand to risk-manage portfolio exposure to the Indian rupee.
Total equity index futures volume for the month was down 5% y-o-y to 14.2 million contracts, as FTSE China A50 futures volume slid. However, the volume of MSCI Taiwan, MSCI Singapore, Nikkei 225 and Nifty 50 contracts increased.
REITs continued to post positive returns, with about $327 million of net inflows from institutional investors over the first nine months of 2019. The key index inclusions of three REITs – Mapletree Commercial Trust in the STI, and both Frasers Centrepoint Trust and Keppel DC REIT in the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index Series – contributed to trading turnover.
SGX-listed companies continued to tap the equity capital markets with secondary fundraising of $2.5 billion in September, compared with $0.87 billion a year ago.
As at 2.51pm, shares in SGX are trading 13 cents higher, or 1.58% up, at $8.35.
