OREANDA-NEWS. Asia ex-Japan equity markets have gained 0.3% in the April month-to-date in Singapore dollar terms, with the Hang Seng Index, the Straits Times Index and the MSCI India Index among the region’s outperformers, rising 2.9%, 0.8% and 0.4% over the period

Reflecting this trend, the SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF, the iShares MSCI India Index ETF, and the db x-trackers FTSE China 50 UCITS ETF (DR) were the second, fourth and ninth-most active Exchange Traded Funds in the month thus far.

These three ETFs generated MTD returns of 1.0%, 0.1% and 0.9% respectively during the period.

Singapore’s STI jumped to a four-month high two weeks ago after the Monetary Authority of Singapore moved to a neutral policy stance of 0% appreciation for the local currency. The surprise move by the central bank was seen as net positive for stocks, with banks leading the domestic rally.

Indian stocks also surged to a three-month high two weeks ago as consumer inflation eased more than expected and the weather office forecast above-normal showers for this year’s monsoon. A strong monsoon will help boost India’s agriculture sector, which makes up about 20% of the nation’s economy. The July-September monsoon also accounts for about 80% of India’s total rainfall and irrigates more than half its farmland.

Hong Kong equities continue to hold investor interest, driven by attractive valuations, and as stock fundamentals remain resilient against a backdrop of slower economic growth. Sentiment has also been buoyed by the yuan’s stabilisation against the dollar and the Fed’s dovish stance. Earlier this week,  US central bank policy makers skipped an interest rate hike for the third straight meeting, after kicking off the tightening cycle last December.

Month-to-Date Performances

The 10 most active ETFs on SGX in the month-to-date are SPDR® Gold Shares, SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF, iShares J.P. Morgan USD Asia Credit Bond Index ETF, iShares MSCI India Index ETF, iShares Barclays Capital USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF, db x-trackers MSCI Brazil Index UCITS ETF (DR), db x-trackers MSCI Indonesia Index UCITS ETF, db x-trackers II Markit iBoxx ABF Singapore Government UCITS ETF, db x-trackers FTSE China 50 UCITS ETF (DR) and db x-trackers FTSE Vietnam UCITS ETF.

In the month thus far, these 10 most active ETFs averaged a total return of 1.4%, taking the one-year and three-year total returns to -6.4 % and 0.7% respectively. The three best performers in terms of month-to-date total returns were db x-trackers MSCI Brazil Index UCITS ETF (DR), db x-trackers FTSE Vietnam UCITS ETF and SPDR® Gold Shares.

The above-mentioned ETFs saw a 2% YoY increase in turnover for the month thus far, rising from S$127.7 million in the April 2015 month-to-date to S$130.0 million in the same period this year. This brings the total 12-month turnover to S$1.9 billion.

The three most active ETFs over the first 20 sessions of April were SPDR® Gold Shares, SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF and iShares J.P. Morgan USD Asia Credit Bond Index ETF.

The 10 most active ETFs in the April 2016 month-to-date are detailed below in Singapore dollars and sorted by MTD turnover.

Name Stock Code Price (S$) MTD Turnover 2016 (S$) MTD Turnover 2015 (S$) YTD Turnover 2016 (S$) 12M Turnover (S$)
SPDR® Gold Shares O87 120.29 39,882,462 33,445,107 241,745,725 558,016,254
SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF ES3 2.89 21,930,467 8,346,220 138,405,772 358,705,724
iShares J.P. Morgan USD Asia Credit Bond Index ETF N6M 10.60 17,639,633 3,210,780 42,314,359 103,902,124
iShares MSCI India Index ETF I98 6.72 13,865,675 47,265,817 140,084,464 516,376,901
iShares Barclays Capital USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF O9P 10.57 12,165,540 6,470,481 39,810,841 84,184,881
db x-trackers MSCI Brazil Index UCITS ETF (DR) J0O 3.17 6,617,741 574,562 15,509,581 26,444,082
db x-trackers MSCI Indonesia Index UCITS ETF KJ7 12.72 6,605,510 9,109,013 31,644,900 81,535,685
db x-trackers II Markit iBoxx ABF Singapore Government UCITS ETF KV4 135.54 5,295,067 133,851 5,308,343 9,018,957
db x-trackers FTSE China 50 UCITS ETF (DR) HD8 28.31 3,397,885 12,174,826 21,088,534 79,070,397
db x-trackers FTSE Vietnam UCITS ETF HD9 22.76 2,630,678 7,003,949 11,948,128 56,759,254

Source: SGX & Bloomberg (data as of 28 April 2016)

Name Stock Code Total Return MTD % Total Return YTD % Total Return 12M % Total Return Annualized 3 Yrs  % Total Return 3 Yrs  % 30 Day Volatility %
SPDR® Gold Shares O87 1.7 12.2 5.9 -2.8 -8.1 14.8
SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF ES3 1.0 -0.5 -15.0 -2.1 -6.2 15.7
iShares J.P. Morgan USD Asia Credit Bond Index ETF N6M 0.3 -0.9 4.4 6.6 21.1 5.5
iShares MSCI India Index ETF I98 0.1 -4.9 -7.4 4.9 15.6 16.7
iShares Barclays Capital USD Asia High Yield Bond Index ETF O9P 1.3 -0.4 6.9 7.7 24.8 5.6
db x-trackers MSCI Brazil Index UCITS ETF (DR) J0O 7.9 35.4 -19.0 -14.3 -37.1 46.3
db x-trackers MSCI Indonesia Index UCITS ETF KJ7 -1.9 4.6 -4.7 -7.3 -20.2 15.7
db x-trackers II Markit iBoxx ABF Singapore Government UCITS ETF KV4 -1.3 3.4 2.9 1.0 3.1 5.1
db x-trackers FTSE China 50 UCITS ETF (DR) HD8 0.9 -8.8 -31.2 2.9 8.9 22.0
db x-trackers FTSE Vietnam UCITS ETF HD9 3.6 -5.9 -6.5 1.6 4.9 12.9
Average   1.4 3.4 -6.4 -0.2 0.7 16.0

Source: SGX & Bloomberg (data as of 28 April 2016)

ETFs are investment funds listed and traded intraday on a stock exchange. The majority aim to track the performance of an index and provide access to a wide variety of markets and asset classes, including local stocks, international securities, bonds, commodities or money markets.

Each ETF gives investors access to the performance of the asset that comprises the underlying index. Investing in the ETF is also less costly if one was to build a similar portfolio by buying the individual stocks. It also provides exposure to international markets and asset classes that may be inaccessible to individual investors.