Turnover value in the stock market increased 66% year-on-year (y-o-y) in January to S$34.6 billion, with securities daily average value (SDAV) up 58% y-o-y at S$1.65 billion. Derivatives total traded volume climbed 34% y-o-y to 32.1 million contracts – the highest since March 2020 – while derivatives daily average volume (DAV) gained 27% y-o-y to about 1.6 million contracts.

Key highlights:

• Growing interest in stocks beyond benchmark index: Stock market momentum in January was broad based across all client segments, with demand extending beyond index names as more stocks achieved at least S$1 million in daily turnover. Institutions net purchased into index as well as small- and mid-cap stocks. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and SGX Stock Exchange also launched the Value Unlock programme during the month. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) advanced 5.6% month-on-month (m-o-m) to 4,905.13, outperforming most ASEAN peers.

   

• Capital raising accelerates: SGX Stock Exchange welcomed two new listings on Catalist during the month: The Assembly Place Holdings Ltd., Singapore’s largest community-living operator, on 23 January, and Toku Ltd., a leading customer-experience platform, on 22 January. On Mainboard, Concord New Energy Group Limited, a renewable-energy investment holding company, held a successful secondary listing on 6 January. Secondary fundraising activity rose sharply to reach $963.0 million.

• Record ETF turnover: The market turnover value of ETFs more than doubled y-o-y to almost S$1.4 billion in January, with SDAV at an all-time high of S$65 million. Assets-under-management (AUM) at month-end surged 43% y-o-y to a record S$19.1 billion, with sustained inflows into gold, STI and real-estate investment trust (REIT) ETFs. SGX Stock Exchange also welcomed two listings, UOBAM Ping An FTSE ASEAN Dividend Index ETF and CSOP CSAM CSI A500 Index ETF.

• Sustained demand for trusted access to China equities: SGX FTSE China A50 Index Futures traded volume rose 34% y-o-y in January to 11.3 million contracts, the highest since October 2024, when China announced a series of measures to support its economy. The contract is the world’s most liquid international futures for Chinese equities. Mirroring this, DAV in SGX FTSE China H50 Index Futures jumped 82% y-o-y to 8,653 lots (US$313 million notional), with investors increasingly turning to the contract to risk-manage their H-share exposures.

• AI momentum drives Taiwan index futures activity: As global AI momentum powered Taiwan equities to new heights in January, DAV in SGX FTSE Taiwan Index Futures climbed 37% m-o-m to 75,363 lots (US$7.7 billion notional). The contract is the most liquid Taiwan index futures approved by the U.S. CFTC for global investors to manage their Taiwan exposures. Similarly, the SGX Micro FTSE Taiwan Index Futures capped a strong month with DAV of 6,430 lots (US$67 million notional), a record high.

• FX futures set new records: SGX USD/CNH FX Futures traded volume gained 30% y-o-y in January to a new monthly record of 4.5 million contracts (US$448 billion notional) as the RMB continued to strengthen against the dollar, while SGX INR/USD FX Futures volume rose 56% y-o-y to 3.0 million contracts amid heightened volatility – lifting total FX futures volume to an all-time high of 8.3 million contracts. With the shifting rate environment in Japan, SGX Derivatives broadened its interest rate derivatives offering with the launch of SGX Mini 20-Year Japanese Government Bond Futures on 26 January.

• Broad-based commodities volume growth: Commodities traded volume expanded 54% y-o-y in January to 6.8 million contracts, with gains across bellwether iron ore, petrochemicals, freight and rubber derivatives. SGX SICOM rubber futures and options volume rose 51% m-o-m to 359,115 contracts, the highest since April 2025. The 26 January launch of a night-trading session for rubber bolstered daily volume by more than 10%, demonstrating increased demand for the global benchmark contract.

The full market statistics report can be found here.