OREANDA-NEWS. Historical volatility can be useful for showing an annualised percentage metric on how far the stock was able to swing in the past. 

Trading ticks represent the minimum trading unit. The price movement in terms of ticks can be calculated  by using the difference between high-low prices and their corresponding minimum tick size. For instance, if a stock’s low for the session was 1.50 and its high was 1.53, it would mean that the average daily range was seven ticks – 1.500, 1.505, 1.51, 1.515, 1.520, 1.525 and 1.530.   

Price movement in terms of basis points show the daily ranges in terms of the notional value required to make the investment. For instance, if a stock’s low for the session was 1.50 and its high was 1.53, based on the minimum investment being 100 shares, the minimum investment would be between $150 and $153. Hence, expressed in terms of a S$150 initial investment, the seven ticks would represent 4.7%, otherwise referred to as 470 basis points.

The table below details the nine stocks of the Straits Times Index (STI) which saw an increase in their median daily high to low range in Nov 2015, expressed in basis points, over the month of October. For more information on the individual stock, click on the stock name to see its full profile on SGX StockFacts.

STI stocks that saw increased daily trading ranges in November 2015

Source: SGX & SGX StockFacts (Data as of 3 December 2015)

Note that over a period of time, a median value would show this stock's typical intraday price movement – without any skews that could emanate from one or two large range sessions. Because the measure is taken from high to low prices, rather than daily closing prices, the daily ranges represent intraday trading ranges.

The five STI stocks that maintained the biggest daily price movements in basis points in November were Noble Group, Genting Singapore PLC, Golden Agri-Resources, Global Logistic Properties and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings. In terms of ticks alone, the five stocks that exhibited the highest trading ranges over the aforementioned period were Jardine Cycle & Carriage, United Overseas Bank, DBS, Singapore Airlines and Hongkong Land.