1. Common features
South American exchanges are organized markets that are developing. This segment is quite attractive for investors who are considering alternative markets and new innovative instruments.
According to the Futures Industry Association, the dynamics of international exchange trading in these markets indicate growth in the last 10 years.
In 2023, the
volume of exchange trading on South American exchanges increased to 8.6 billion transactions, which is 5.7 times higher than in 2014, when 1.5 billion transactions were recorded.
Over the past three years, record figures for concluded transactions have been recorded on exchanges. At the same time, exchange trading in futures contracts is significantly higher than options trading in recent years. Thus, futures trading in 2023 amounted to 5.8 billion transactions, and options trading - 3.2 billion transactions.
South American exchanges have increased the volume of trading in
financial instruments in recent years, which in 2023 amounted to 99% of total trading volumes.
An assessment of the statistical reports of the Futures Industry Association shows that the largest number of transactions on South American exchanges were concluded on
securities and
stock indices - 72%, on
interest rates - 15%, and exchange rates - 12%. Exchange trading in commodity assets accounted for only 1%.
As we can see from the list of major South American exchanges, many of them, like most world exchanges, are leading exchange alliances.
In general, the current state and prospects for the development of the South American exchange region can be characterized as a market in which transactions related to electronic exchange trading in futures and options on various types of
financial assets are concentrated.
As can be seen from the table above, the Futures Industry Association includes the Brazilian exchange B3 S.A. – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão, the Argentine
stock exchange – Matba ROFEX, the Uruguayan stock exchange – Uruguay Futures Exchange and the Colombian stock exchange – Bolsa deValores de Colombia.
The most significant results of stock trading are concentrated on the Brazilian stock exchange B3.
At the same time, within the South American stock exchange region, significantly more stock exchanges are included, which are of global importance and are located in:
- Brazil;
- Mexico;
- Chile;
- Argentina;
- Colombia;
- Uruguay;
- Paraguay;
- Peru.
Brazil is one of the largest countries in the region, which also has the most powerful stock exchange, which provides investment-attractive instruments. At the same time, the large amount of potential income from investments in
stock market instruments of this region is associated with the emergence of additional risks, as inflationary jumps occur in many countries and high price
volatility is observed.
Geopolitical tensions and high inflation in this region cause price fluctuations, which requires additional hedging using derivative instruments, the demand for which has also increased in recent years.