- Trading turnover of CHF 1,345.9 billion (+5.2% year-on-year, average daily trading turnover of CHF 5.4 billion)
- Six listings of companies – SIX on third highest position in Europe in terms of IPO transaction volume
- New all-time records in ETFs in terms of trading turnover and the number of listed products
- Leading equity indices posted growth rates in the double-digit percentage range
- Market share of SIX in Swiss large caps climbs to in excess of 68%
- SIX meets the requirements of the EU MiFID ll Directive
2017 was a year characterized by high growth rates on the financial markets. This was also true of the Swiss stock exchange, with equity indices, for example, posting sharp increases. There was also a significant year-on-year rise in trading activity on SIX Swiss Exchange. Trading turnover was up by 5,2%, totalling CHF 1,345.9 billion by the end of the year. As far as the number of trades was concerned, the increase of 8.0% was even higher, equating to a full-year total of 51,402,173. It only took until 8 December for the trading turnover generated in the whole of the previous year – CHF 1,279.3 billion – to be exceeded. In 2017, exchange participants made an average of 204,790 securities trades per day worth an average total of CHF 5.4 billion.
March was the month which saw the highest turnover in 2017, with trading running to a total of CHF 142.5 billion. May saw the highest number of transactions, at 4,903,946. 15 December was the day on which the highest trading turnover was generated in 2017, with securities to the value of CHF 12.8 billion changing hands. This was what is referred to as a triple witching day, usually the third Friday of the third month in the quarter, which is when futures and options expire. The day on which the most trades were executed was 18 May, which saw 321,542 transactions. The stock that generated the highest trading turnover in 2017 was NESTLE N, at CHF 117.4 billion, while ROCHE GS saw the highest number of trades, at 2,348,271.
There was a positive trend in the number of listings on SIX Swiss Exchange in 2017, with six listings during the year. The following companies brought initial public offerings to the exchange: Rapid Nutrition, Galenica, Idorsia, Zur Rose, Landis+Gyr and Poenina. Featuring a transaction volume of CHF 2.3 billion, the IPO from Landis+Gyr was not only the largest on SIX Swiss Exchange for 11 years, it was also one of the largest IPO in Europe in 2017. With a total transaction volume of CHF 4.5 billion, SIX Swiss Exchange was on the third highest position in Europe in terms of IPO transaction volume. New listings in the ETF segment led to a new record, with issuers listing a total of 144 new ETFs in 2017. This meant that 1,278 ETFs from 22 issuers were tradeable on SIX Swiss Exchange as at end-2017 – more than ever before. The bonds segment saw 268 new product listings (+1.1%), with a total of 35,912 in the structured products segment (+0.8%).
In September, SIX implemented a rule change on the SMI which entailed bringing the benchmark index into line with the UCITS Directive. This amendment means that individual securities can now account for no more than 18% of the index. As a result, investors in the EU can continue do investments based on the SMI.
Last year saw a marked rise in trading turnover on SwissAtMid. This platform enables trades to be made in Swiss equities in a non-displayed liquidity pool at the mid-point price of the public order book. Since its launch in October 2016 there has been a steady rise in monthly trading turnover, with turnover running to a total of CHF 4.7 billion in full-year 2017.
The equities including funds segment generated the lion's share of trading turnover in 2017. There was a year-on-year increase in trading turnover within this segment of 5.2% to CHF 1,058.0 billion. The number of trades also rose, by 8.4% to 49,383,694. In terms of trading turnover, the bonds in Swiss francs segment was more or less stable. Trading turnover of CHF 129.2 billion represented a modest decline of 2.7%, while the volume of trades fell by 6.3% to 355,921.
Having set a record high in the previous year, ETFs posted another record year for trading turnover. At CHF 116.4 billion, the previous record set in 2016 of CHF 103.8 billion was outstripped by a substantial 12.2%. The number of transactions was also up, by 6.0% to 1,019,294. Furthermore, there was strong growth in bonds in foreign currencies. Trading turnover in this segment climbed by 28.7% to CHF 26.3 billion. However, the number of trades was down by 5.4% to 20,774. Trading turnover in structured products and warrants was down slightly, by 2.3% to CHF 16.0 billion, while the number of trades fell by 6.6% to 622,490. There was a sharp rise in the share of turnover accounted for by products featuring the cryptocurrency Bitcoin within this segment during the course of the year. While the monthly trading turnover in these instruments came in below CHF 3 million at the start of 2017, it climbed to more than CHF 250 million in December.
The leading equity indices saw huge growth rates in the double-digit percentage range in 2017: the blue chip SMI® index came in at 9,381.9 points as at end-December, up 14.1% versus end-2016. The SLI Swiss Leader Index® closed at 1,517.9 points (+17.0%) and the broader-based SPI® at 10,751.5 points (+19.9%). The leading bond index, the SBI® AAA-BBB Total Return, produced a moderately positive performance, up 0.1% at 136.4 points.