Derivatives shine in mixed October for SGX

Singapore

MARKET activity on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) had an ambivalent month in October as derivatives trading and securities turnover picked up from September while share trading volume eased.

Shares worth S$21.8 billion changed hands in October, raising the securities daily average value (SDAV) by a modest 8 per cent to about S$1.04 billion from September's S$957 million. The monthly average was, however, 7 per cent lower from the year-ago turnover of S$1.12 billion.

The number of shares traded has fallen, however, suggesting that the larger counters are drawing more of the market's attention. Against September, average daily trading volume is down 13 per cent at 1.5 billion shares. Compared to October 2013, when penny stocks were hit by a massive selloff of small-caps, daily trading vol…