Will giving back traders' lunch break affect trading volumes?

Securities average trading volume (SADV) surged in February.

The Singapore Exchange is mulling over the re-implementation of a lunch break, which will reduce securities market trading hours. The question is, will this negatively impact trading volumes?

According to RHB, this would not have any significant impact on the securities average trading volume (SADV). It noted that SADV surged 38% to $1.36b in the past month, and it is expected to remain strong due to the tweaks to the domestic residential property cooling measures.

However, RHB said SADV for the whole year might slightly dip to $1.19b, as the volume pick-up was slightly weaker than expected.

"However, we have noted the strength in trading volumes over the past two months. February’s SADV jumped 38% month-on-month. Thus, we have assumed continued strength for FY18, with our FY18F SADV unchanged at $1.35b," said RHB.