World Federation of Exchanges Reports That the Global Stock Market Grows by $13 Trillion

According to a World Federation of Exchanges report, the global equity market's capitalisation increased by 13% or more than $13 trillion in 2023.

The international exchange organisation recently released a report titled 2023 Market Highlights.

It showed that trading value and volumes fell 10.6% and 3.4% in 2023, respectively, despite the rise in global market capitalization. All regions saw their lowest annual trading value in the previous three years.

The market capitalization of the Nigerian equities market increased by 46.6%, or N13 trillion, last year, against the global trend.

The WFE reported that the average trade size, at $2,776.45/trade, was at its lowest point in the previous three years.

It noted, "The non-IPO listings in the Americas and EMEA region were at their minimum level in the last three years, while the APAC region recorded its maximum. The capital raised through already listed companies registered its minimum level in each region. The number of IPOs in every region was at its lowest in the last three years, with markets welcoming only 1,217 IPOs in 2023.

"The capital raised through IPOs fell sharply compared to 2022 (-59.3%). While the APAC and EMEA regions declined by -43.3% and -86.1%, respectively, the Americas experienced a significant increase (71.3%).

"The average size of an IPO followed the same trend. While in the APAC and EMEA regions, it recorded its lowest level in the last three years, amounting to $86.11m/IPO and $88.11m/IPO, respectively, in the Americas it almost doubled, reaching $126.41m/IPO. Despite this decline, global markets hosted five unicorns in the second half of the year (in addition to the three unicorns listed in the first half of the year)."

A total of 134.40 billion derivatives contracts were traded, a 58.9% increase from 2022. The number of exchange-traded derivatives contracts, including options and futures, reached its highest level in the previous three years, totaling 104.06 billion for options and 30.33 billion for futures.

The report stated that the increase was primarily driven by options, which rose 89.4% (and account for 77% of all derivatives contracts traded), while futures increased 2.4%.