ASX’s Volumes Trending Higher in February Despite Mitigated Volatility

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has reported its monthly activity report for February 2017, ultimately showing a downtrodden performance across the board despite an uptick in volatility for the month, per an ASX filing.

According to the latest monthly report, the value of ASX-listed stocks, as measured by the global All Ordinaries Index, rose 1.5 percent month-over-month from January 2017 – this reading also corresponded to a sagging expected future volatility reading of 12.1 in February 2017, compared to just 13.1 in January 2017.

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The diminishing volatility was evident across most institutional and retail exchanges worldwide, given an absence of market drivers during the month of February 2017. As opposed to the month prior, which featured the beginning of Donald Trump’s administration, February was relatively tranquil in terms of market activity.

More specifically, the ASX’s stock value during February 2017 was lagely consistent with most other regional exchanges and market blocs, especially when weighed against leaders such as Hong Kong (1.6%), Singapore (1.6%), the United States (3.7%), and Germany (2.6%).

Metrics Breakdown

In terms of market specifics in February 2017, the ASX managed to raise only $1.55 billion in total capital during the month, jumping from $853.0 in January 2017, or higher by 81.7 percent month-over-month. Compared to its 2016 counterpart however, the ASX did mark an increase in its raised capital, plunging -72.8 percent year-over-year from $5.7 billion in February 2017.

The total value of cash markets for the ASX during February 2017 was $105.2 billion, up 24.9 percent month-over-month from $84.2 billion in January 2017. In addition to this ascending figure, the ASX also reported a positive performance in its average daily value on-market, yielding a figure of $4.5 billion in February 2017, up 25.0 percent month-over-month from $3.6 billion in January 2017.

The ASX also released its futures trading statistics during February 2017, showing a total of 9.5 million futures contracts traded during the month, or 21.8 percent higher month-over-month from 7.8 million contracts in January 2017.

Average daily contracts were also trending higher at 473,423 in February 2017, vs. just 373,264 contracts in January 2017, up 26.8 percent month-over-month.