Derivatives temper securities' slide

Singapore

A SURGE of interest in overseas equity markets spurred a second-half rise in derivatives volumes for the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in 2014, cushioning the impact of a lacklustre securities scene on the homefront.

The daily average trading turnover of securities in December rose 3 per cent to S$983 million, but fell 11 per cent from November. For the whole of 2014, securities daily average value (SDAV) was down 25 per cent.

The derivatives business, however, did much better. Average daily trading volume of derivatives jumped 81 per cent year-on-year in December to 771,673 contracts. Month-on-month, the December average was up 23 per cent. Supported by a second-half rally, the average daily volum…