China reopening drives SGX derivatives trading in February: report

CHINA’S reopening spurred trading activity across multiple asset classes on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in February, the bourse operator said on Monday (Mar 13).

Notably, total derivatives traded volume reached its highest in three months at 20 million contracts, up 7 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, daily average volumes stood at one million contracts, down 5 per cent from the year-ago period.

Total futures trading volume was up 8 per cent on the year to 19.3 million contracts, while options trading volume dropped 13 per cent to 694,255 contracts from the year before. Swaps trading volume, meanwhile, was up 134 per cent year on year to 3,489 contracts.

Total foreign exchange (FX) futures volumes rose 39 per cent year on year to 2.9 million contracts. Optimism over China’s outlook drove hedging demand on SGX’s currency marketplaces, adding to FX volatility.

The volume of SGX USD/CNH Futures – one of the world’s most traded international renminbi futures – surged 85 per cent to 1.5 million contracts in February. SGX INR/USD Futures volume rose 2 per cent year on year to 1.2 million contracts, as the rupee declined in the second half of the month.

Next, Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) dropped 3.1 per cent in February to 3,262.63 amid worries that further interest-rate hikes would slow growth. In the year to date, however, the benchmark continued to outperform its regional peers, SGX noted.

Total securities market turnover value fell 25 per cent year on year to S$22.1 billion in February, while total market turnover volumes climbed 11 per cent to 29.4 billion shares. The securities daily average value for the month fell 33 per cent to S$1.1 billion, while volumes held steady at 1.5 billion shares.

The market turnover volumes of structured warrants and daily leverage certificates (DLCs) also picked up in February amid steady institutional trades.

Structured warrants turnover volumes rose 31 per cent to 5.2 billion shares, although the market turnover value fell 3 per cent to S$288 million. Meanwhile, DLC market turnover volume rose 264 per cent to 3.5 billion shares, while market turnover value rose 72 per cent to S$371 million.

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SGX said there were 33 new listings of structured warrants and DLCs. The bourse also added food and beverage operator YKGI to the Catalist board during the month.