In January, the total trading value of the securities market on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) increased by 1% y-o-y to S$20.8 billion. The Straits Times Index (STI) reached a 17-year high, and the assets under management (AUM) of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rose to a record level.

According to the monthly market statistics report released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday (February 11th), the total market trading volume in January decreased by 31% to 1.91 billion shares from 2.77 billion shares in the same period last year.

The trading value of the securities market increased by 4% month-on-month to S$20.8 billion, and the average daily trading value of securities increased by 9% to S$1.04 billion.

The Straits Times Index hit 3,886.98 points on January 8th, the highest level since October 2007, continuing its strong performance in December 2024.

Compared with the previous month, the index rose by 1.8% to 3,855.82 points, while similar indexes in the ASEAN region declined.

The average daily value of cash securities increased by 8% to S$1 billion. The SGX pointed out that trading activities across all client groups, led by real-estate investment trusts and index stocks, increased.

Meanwhile, the turnover of the ETF market increased by 11% year-on-year to S$324 million, and the trading volume decreased by 7% to 203 million shares.

The AUM of ETFs increased by 25% year-on-year to a record S$13.3 billion. The top three ETFs in terms of net inflows were SPDR Gold Shares, CSOP iEdge SEA+ TECH ETF, and NikkoAM Singapore STI ETF.

In terms of foreign exchange, the total trading volume of foreign exchange futures increased by 35% year-on-year to 5.8 million contracts.

In January, the trading volume of SGX Indian Rupee/US Dollar foreign exchange futures increased by 53% year-on-year to 1.92 million contracts, with a notional turnover of US$44.4 billion, reaching a new high.

The exchange pointed out that due to strong hedging demand, the trading volume of Indian Rupee futures hit a record as investors prepared to manage the currency risk of SGX FX ahead of the announcement of the monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India in early February.

In the commodity sector, the trading volume of petrochemical products reached a new high, with the trading volume increasing by 42% year-on-year to 2.43 million metric tons. Both para-xylene and benzene contracts reached new highs. The increase in geopolitical uncertainties and the growing number of market participants contributed to the new high in the trading volume of petrochemical products.