The overall derivatives and cash turnover on the exchanges has surged to record highs in the past few months, amid a surge in volatility and greater institutional participation, especially from overseas investors. The daily average turnover in the futures & options (F&O) segment for February stood at Rs 45.5 trillion, a 19 per cent gain over the previous month and 127 per cent higher than the average turnover clocked for the last calendar year, the exchange data showed. The average turnover has, in fact, seen a sustained month on month rise since April last year. Turnover on the cash segment for the month of February stood at Rs 88,497 crore, also a record. This is 55 per cent higher than the average turnover seen last year. February was characterised by wild swings, with gains of 6 per cent for the benchmark indices. A growth-focussed Union Budget coupled with easy liquidity globally led foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to purchase stocks worth nearly Rs 22,000 crore even as domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 16,575 crore during the month, the data compiled by BS Research Bureau showed.