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25 July 2016: The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) today published its H1 2016 Market Highlights.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Cash equity markets experienced a decline of 24.0% in terms of value traded, and 6.9% in
terms of number of trades in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. These
declines largely reflect a slow-down in trading activity in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly
mainland China.
FX and commodities exchange traded derivatives led a 1.4% rise in all exchange-traded
derivatives.
According to the WFE’s half-year statistics, the key trends of the year thus far are as follows:
Global market capitalisation decreased 9.4% from H1 2015, to reach USD 67.2 trillion compared with
USD 74.2 trillion. Asia-Pacific accounted for USD 4 trillion of this decline, ending the half year at USD
23.3 trillion, down 14.9% from the end of the first half of 2015. EMEA exchanges were down USD 1.8
trillion (a decline of nearly 10%) followed by the decline of USD 1.1 trillion in the Americas (nearly 3.6%).
The USD 29.14 trillion market capitalisation as at end June 2016 in the Americas is, however, up slightly
(4.3%) on the number at end 2015.
The value of share trading decreased 24.0% worldwide to USD 44.9 trillion in the six-months to June
2016 compared with USD 59.2 trillion in the same period in 2015. Most of the decrease is attributable to
the decline in trading activity in the Asia-Pacific region where the value of share trading decreased 47.0%
from that seen in the first half of 2015. The Americas bucked this trend, with value-traded in H1 2016 up
2.3% on H1 2015.
Total number of trades in H1 2016 decreased 6.9% from H1 2015. As the Asia-Pacific region accounted
for 66% of all trades in the first half of 2015 this decline is entirely due to a 20.6% drop in the number of
trades in this region. Both the Americas and EMEA experienced an increase in number of trades in H1
2016 compared to the same period in 2015 (up 22.9% and 8.8% respectively).
IPOs and investment flows: Total new listings in the first half of 2016 (including IPOs) were
down 48.9% overall compared to the first half of 2015. Similarly, investment flows channelled
through exchanges declined by nearly 31.4% in the first half of 2016 compared to the same
period of 2015. Within this figure, capital raised through IPOs (which accounted for just under
10% of total capital raised) decreased by 64.4% and capital raised by already listed companies
decreased by 24.1%.
Exchange Traded Derivatives (ETD) volumes (as represented by number of contracts traded) ended
this six-month period 1.4% up compared to the first half of 2015. This was fuelled mainly by increases in
the number of commodity and currency derivatives traded, up 46.8% and 26.1% respectively, versus the
same period in 2015.
Nandini Sukumar, CEO, WFE said: “The first half of 2016 saw a marked decrease in global market
capitalisation, led by Asia-Pacific, but felt across all three regions; this is a continuing downward trend since
the second half of 2015. It is interesting to note, however, the strong performance of both the Americas and
EMEA in terms of number of trades. Moreover, the growth in the value of share trading in the Americas also
supports a robust H1 for the region overall.
“As ever, our data provides a statistical view of underlying market activity, and demonstrates the role
exchanges provide in serving the real economy.”
“The uptick in volumes for exchange traded derivatives is of particular interest,” added Siobhan Cleary, Head
of Research & Public Policy, WFE. “This has been supported primarily by steady increases in the number
of FX and commodity derivatives traded.”
