Market highlights – H1 2017

By: The WFE Research Team Aug 2017

>This article is based on WFE’s recently published half year highlights and shows H1 2017 performance relative to H1 2016 for 68 exchanges across key metrics.

Market performance in H1 2017 was mixed. Overall, domestic market capitalisation reached record levels, and listings and IPOs were up on H1 2016. Secondary market activity was muted, however, with volume and value of shares traded, and volumes of derivatives traded down on H1 2016. Overall investments flows were also down on the 2016 period.

  • Total domestic market capitalisation increased by 16.3% to reach a record level of US$78.2 trillion, the highest market capitalisation recorded for this universe of exchanges since 2012. The market capitalisation in the Americas was up 14.1%, reaching a record high of US$33.2 trillion. The Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions also saw increases in market capitalisation on H1 2016 of 18.1% and 17.7% respectively.
  • The overall value and volume of share trading was down 9.1% and 12.2% on H1 2016. This was due to declines across all three regions.

Domestic Market Capitalisation

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  • The total number of new listings rebounded, with a 44.1% increase on H1 2016.
    • The increase was particularly pronounced in the Asia-Pacific region (up 62.9%), where 73% of these new listings occurred. Of these, over 50% of these were on mainland Chinese exchanges.
    • In the Americas and the EMEA regions the number of new listings was up 31.5% and 7.3% on H1 2016 respectively.
  • Investment flows through IPOs were also up across all three regions (up 109.8% on H1 2016). However, despite this increase, the decline in non-IPO investment flows (which account for 80% of investment flows) was such that total investment flowswere down 2.7% on H1 2016.
    • In the Americas, non-IPO investment flows were down 7% while investment flows through IPOs were up 294.3%.
    • In the Asia-Pacific region, investment flows through IPOs were up 125%, while non-IPO investment flows were down 5.2%.
    • In EMEA region, investment flows through IPOs were up 11% on H1 2016, but non-IPO investment flows were down 29.2%.
  • Exchange Traded Derivatives (ETD) volumes overall were down 5% on H1 2016, driven by falls in volume traded in stock index futures, currency futures and commodity futures.
    • Index futures volumes traded were down 13.2% on H1 2016, due to decreases in all three regions.
    • Currency futures, which account for over 80% of the currency derivatives contracts traded, saw volumes traded decline by 20.1%.
    • Commodity futures, which represent over 95% of the commodity derivatives contracts traded, saw volumes fall by 24.1%. This decline was entirely attributable to the Asia-Pacific region, where volumes were down 36.1% on H1 2016. Despite these falls in volumes, commodity futures remained the most actively traded contract type in H1 2017.
    • The performance of other derivatives product volumes was as follows:
      • Stock options and single stock futures were up 2.8% and 4.6% respectively.
      • Index options were up 13.2%.
      • Interest rate futures (which account for 95% of IR derivatives contracts) were up 19.2%, and interest rate options up 24.7%.
      • Currency options were up 23.3% and commodity options were down 1.5%.

Commodity derivatives

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For further insights and analysis,  to read the WFE H1 2017 Market Highlights report in full.