A GROWING number of investors are betting on future movements of the Straits Times Index (STI) as a whole - rather than taking their chances on individual stock picks.

Trading of STI futures contracts has surged in the past two months in tandem with a spike in market volatility. The number of contracts traded almost trebled to 989 last month, up from 344 in September, as investors sought to either profit from the stock market fluctuations or diversify risks.

It was also a sharp jump from 223 contracts traded in August. Last month alone, the STI fluctuated within a 763-point range, surging to as high as 2,363.6 and plunging to as low as 1,600.28. It has lost over 46per cent so far this year.

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