The Singapore Exchange Group (SGX Group) has reported higher derivatives and securities volumes in August, with derivatives traded volume increasing 11% y-o-y and securities market turnover growing 17% y-o-y.
Derivatives traded volume for August grew to 27.4 million contracts, with derivatives daily average volume (DAV) also growing 17% y-o-y to 1.3 million contracts.
Securities market turnover grew to $33.6 billion, while securities DAV also increased 17% y-o-y to $1.6 billion.
The group says that a rally in China’s equities market drove demand for China equity derivatives, with DAV of SGX FTSE China A50 Index Futures rising 66% y-o-y in August to 496,023 lots (US$7.2 billion notional), the highest in six months.
With lower implied volatility in dollar/yuan, open interest in SGX USD/CNH FX options surged to a record 20,055 lots (US$2 billion notional).
Meanwhile, concerns over the impact of additional US trade tariffs on India’s economy fanned portfolio hedging demand in August. The SGX INR/USD FX Futures traded volume gaining 24% y-o-y to 2.12 million contracts, with month-end open interest up 31% y-o-y at US$3.06 billion notional.
See also: SGX's SDAV for July up 27% y-o-y to $1.47 bil
The SGX Group notes that there was a “record commodities open interest” in the month of August, as the monthly average open interest in benchmark iron ore derivatives rose 28% y-o-y to 3.71 million lots.
This was amid expectations of accelerated infrastructure spending in China and border macroeconomic uncertainty.
For the month of August, the Straits Times Index (STI) rose 2.3% m-o-m to 4,269.7 bringing y-t-d gains to 12.7%.
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“Even so, small and mid-cap stocks outperformed the STI, lifting cash SDAV by 8% m-o-m and small-mid cap SDAV by 11% m-o-m. The FTSE ST Small Cap Index climbed 2.4% m-o-m, while the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 3.9% m-o-m,” reads the release.
Finally, ETF AUM surpassed $15 billion for the first time in August, up 38% y-o-y and secondary fundraising totalled $610.1 million for the month.
Shares in SGX closed 12 cents higher or 0.738% up at $16.37 on Sept 8.
