Page 47 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2025年2月刊）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

historical peak of November 2021. These events prompted ESMA to renew

its warning on the highly speculative nature of crypto-assets.

Market monitoring

Securities markets: European equity valuations declined in 4Q24, extending the

divergence between EU and US equities. In the EU, considerable disparities in

sectoral and country performance persisted. In fixed income markets, corporate bond

spreads reached historical lows, especially in the high-yield segment. Search-for-yield

behaviour and excessive risk-taking by end investors could lead to pricing

misalignments and to abrupt repricing when economic conditions change.

Asset management: In 2H24, EU fund asset growth was due to valuation effects,

with most categories performing positively amid muted flows. Overall EU equity fund

performance outperformed EU indices reflecting a growing exposure to the US. This

could expose these funds to higher market risks given signs of overvaluation in US

equities. Leverage remains high for hedge funds and commercial real estate fund

valuation has not adjusted substantially to underlying prices.

Consumers: Confidence in future market conditions was weak and sentiment in

current market conditions reached a two-year low, despite improvements in the

aggregate financial position of households. Consumers continued to increase their

direct and indirect exposures to bonds amid higher interest rates. Average

performance of retail investments also improved in 2024, with positive performance

in equity, bond, alternative and mixed funds.

Infrastructures and services: Cyber risks continue to grow amid geopolitical

tensions. In 2H24, equity-trading volumes remained high (+23% year-on-year).

Settlement failure rates decreased, continuing a positive trend observed since the

implementation of CSDR in 2022. There was a small decrease in the number of

outstanding credit ratings, associated with a decline in financial and particularly

covered bond ratings.

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