[SINGAPORE] The total securities market turnover value on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) edged up 1 per cent year on year to S$26.9 billion, supported by institutional hedging activity and continued demand for safe-haven and dividend-yielding stocks.
The securities daily average value rose 6 per cent on year to about S$1.3 billion.
May’s total market turnover volume dropped 18 per cent to 22.3 billion shares, from 27.3 billion shares in the same month the year before, said the bourse operator in its monthly market statistics report on Monday (Jun 9).
One bright spot was derivatives, where the traded volume increased 6 per cent to 25.4 million contracts in May. Derivatives daily average volume climbed 11 per cent to 1.3 million contracts.
The Straits Times Index (STI) in May came close to the all-time high posted in March after it advanced 1.6 per cent month on month to 3,894.61. On Mar 28, it rose above 4,000 for the first time. May’s performance was due to “Singapore’s appeal to investors as a flight-to-quality venue”, said SGX.
Its report also stated that market turnover value of exchange-traded funds (ETF) increased 22 per cent year on year in May to S$376 million, as market participants continued to favour safe-haven and higher dividend-yielding stocks.
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The SPDR Gold Shares ETF recorded its 12th consecutive month of gains, bringing net inflows over the one-year period to S$500 million.
Meanwhile, net inflows into the two STI ETFs crossed S$60 million in May – the highest since September 2020.
The report highlighted the SGX FTSE China A50 Index Futures as a standout performer, with trading volume rising 4 per cent year on year to 7.8 million contracts. SGX said the SGX Equity Derivatives bellwether remains the world’s most liquid international futures contract for Chinese equities.
The bourse operator listed the won as one of the forex futures outperformers. The daily average value of the SGX KRW/USD FX Futures increased 143 per cent year on year to a monthly record of 38,294 lots, or a notional US$685 million, in May.
It said this was in part due to the unprecedented volatility in the Taiwan dollar, which spilled over to emerging Asia currencies – notably the Korean won.
The SGX KRW/USD Mini Futures similarly attracted a significant influx of new participants, as did SGX USD/CNH Options, which posted a single-day open interest record of 8,189 lots, or a notional US$818 million.
In commodities, traded volume in petrochemicals derivatives more than doubled year on year in May to the equivalent of 4.4 million metric tonnes (MT), with average monthly open interest surpassing three million MT amid a rebound in physical cargo prices.
On May 13, SGX Commodities cleared a record single-day volume of 500,000 MT in petrochemicals contracts.
SGX said in its monthly report that the Singapore stock market continued to stand out for its “quality and value to investors”, with strong institutional hedging activity as investors recalibrated portfolios in response to ongoing market uncertainty.
As at 3.59 pm on Thursday, shares of SGX were up 0.6 per cent or S$0.08 at S$13.86.
