By Amanda Lee
Singapore Exchange shares hit their highest intraday level in about 17 years amid a rosy outlook for the exchange operator.
The stock was up by as much as 8.8% to 13.83 Singapore dollars, equivalent to US$10.24, in Friday midafternoon trade.
Analysts expect SGX to continue benefiting from market volatility stemming from global uncertainties.
SGX's first-half profit after tax for fiscal 2025 came in ahead of Maybank Securities' expectations due to stronger cash equities and derivatives demand, said Thilan Wickramasinghe, head of research.
These conditions are expected to continue as global geopolitical volatility and monetary and fiscal uncertainty rises, he said in a note.
"This should give SGX a competitive advantage as a deeply liquid risk management venue," he added.
Maybank upgraded the stock's to buy from hold and raised its target price to S$14.16 from S$10.12.
Heightened volatility around the Trump administration and Singapore's standing as a "flight-to-safety" venue in Asia could also SGX's volumes this year, said Glenn Thum, a senior research analyst at Phillip Securities Research, in a note.
Investors may have "raced ahead" to price in a potential pickup in trading volumes on expected initiatives to revitalize the Singapore stock market, said CGS International analyst Andrea Choong in a note.
"At this stage, we think that expectations of impactful measures are running high, and unconvincing initiatives may result in some unwinding of SGX's recent re-rating," Choong added.
Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 07, 2025 02:16 ET (07:16 GMT)
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