SGX securities daily average volume in April hits 5-year high

Business Times

13-05-2025

[SINGAPORE] The total securities market turnover value on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) increased 59 per cent to S$40.6 billion in April, on record foreign exchange (FX) futures and exchange-traded fund (ETF) activity.
April's total market turnover volume fell 21 per cent to 29.5 billion shares, from 37.1 billion in the same month the previous year, said the bourse operator in its monthly market statistics report on Tuesday (May 13).
The securities daily average value (SDAV) reached a new five-year high in April, rising 59 per cent on year to S$1.9 billion – the highest since March 2020. Derivatives traded volume increased 24 per cent year on year to 29.9 million contracts on record foreign exchange (FX) futures activity, too. Month on month, it was up around 9 per cent from 27.4 million contracts in March. This was largely due to a 'flight to quality' activity by investors amid tariff volatility, SGX said. The derivatives daily average volume climbed 24 per cent on year to 1.5 million contracts.
'In a month of tariff-driven volatility, global investors leaned on SGX Group's liquid marketplace to tap opportunities and risk-manage across asset classes,' it added.
US President Donald Trump unveiled tariffs on trading partners on Apr 2, and eventually hiked those on China to 145 per cent, with retaliatory rates of 125 per cent. Singapore, on the other hand, was subject to a baseline 10 per cent tariff rate, which came into effect on Apr 5.
In particular, SGX US dollar/offshore Chinese renminbi FX futures traded volume gained 57 per cent year on year in April to 4.4 million contracts as investors weighed US-China trade tensions.
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Additionally, SGX Indian rupee/US dollar FX futures volume also grew on the back of renewed foreign-investment flows into India bolstering the domestic economy.
The two benchmark contracts led a 70 per cent year-on-year surge in total SGX FX futures volume to a record high of 8.2 million contracts.
Next, the combined assets under management of ETFs rose to a record S$13.8 billion in April, with daily average turnover up 62 per cent year on year at S$37.5 million – a five-year high.
SGX witnessed the listing of Amova MSCI AC Asia ex Japan ex China Index ETF in April, the first ETF globally that tracks the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan ex China Index.
In April, Singapore was the most-traded South-east Asian cash market, leading regional peers with 2025 year-to-date SDAV growth of 22 per cent.
The Straits Times Index also outperformed other South-east Asian benchmarks year to date with a 1.2 per cent price return and 2.9 per cent total return for the month.
Retail SDAV in particular climbed more than 50 per cent month on month to the highest level achieved since January 2021.
In the top position, DBS made up 19 per cent of total trading value of STI constituent stocks for the month of April, with a market capitalisation of around S$120.6 million. This was followed by UOB at 10 per cent, recording a market capitalisation of around S$57.9 million.
Both OCBC's and national telco provider Singtel's total trading value of STI constituent stocks stood at 9 per cent.
India equity derivatives recorded its best performance in April, where Gift Nifty 50 Futures hit a record volume of 2.1 million contracts, up from two million contracts the previous month. Its daily average volume of 112,113 contracts in April demonstrated strong trading momentum, with India outperforming its emerging market peers amid the tariff uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the traded volume of SGX FTSE China A50 Index Futures stood out last month, increasing 32 per cent year on year in April to 9.4 million contracts, with 1.2 million lots changing hands on Apr 7. This was at the peak of the global sell-off triggered by concerns over the impact of US tariffs.
Broad-based commodities also grew, with the commodity derivatives traded volume increasing 11 per cent on year in April to 6.3 million contracts, with iron ore leading the gains across other products.
The volume of SGX Sicom rubber derivatives – its global physical benchmark for rubber future contracts – increased 49 per cent on year to a record of more than 454,000 lots, while petrochemicals volume more than doubled, driven by heightened risk management.
Due to increased options activity, dairy derivatives increased to a record of more than 170,000 lots, too.
Institutional investors also turned to SGX Equity Derivatives to manage their Asian portfolio risk during onshore holidays in China and Taiwan and to hedge their positions during US hours. A record 85,270 lots of SGX FTSE Taiwan Index Futures were traded during the overnight session of Apr 9.
As at 1.46 pm, shares of SGX were trading 2.4 per cent or S$0.34 lower at S$14.06.