CME, S&P Sign Agreement for Futures Contracts on S&P Sectors, Industry Indices
Longtime S&P 500 Member Boeing Rings Ceremonial Opening Bell
CHICAGO, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME) and Standard & Poor's today marked the 20th anniversary of S&P 500 futures trading with a ceremonial bell-ringing and the announcement of a new agreement permitting futures trading on subsets of the S&P 500 Stock Price Index which includes 10 sector and 59 industry group indices.
Philip M. Condit, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Boeing Company -- an S&P index component since 1934 -- rang the opening bell, joined by Hendrik J. Kranenburg, Executive Vice President, Standard & Poor's; and, from CME: Chairman Scott Gordon, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNulty, Chairman Emeritus and Senior Policy Advisor Leo Melamed and Special Policy Advisor Jack Sandner.
``We are enormously proud of the investment history that Standard & Poor's and Chicago Mercantile Exchange have made together over the course of the last 20 years,'' said Rik Kranenburg, Executive Vice President of Standard & Poor's. ``Since its introduction 20 years ago, the futures contract on the S&P 500 has been one the most successful securities instruments ever developed, particularly with respect to tradeabilty, liquidity and relevance in the U.S. equity markets. A key ingredient in this success, and a key ingredient in Standard & Poor's index business, is our commitment to developing meaningful indices that lend themselves to the development of investable products.''
``This 20th anniversary testifies to the significance of the S&P 500 stock price index as a benchmark of the U.S. equity market and to the truly extraordinary relationship that we have been privileged to enjoy with Standard & Poor's since we first worked together in launching this revolutionary product,'' said Gordon. ``We are honored to be joined by Rik Kranenburg and Phil Condit and as we recognize the success of equity index futures and their significance for U.S. and global business.''
``Boeing is proud to have been an S&P Index name for more than 60 years and to celebrate the significance of this benchmark index and of stock index futures trading at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange,'' said Condit. ``I am pleased to be here today to help commemorate the 20th anniversary of the CME's S&P 500 futures trading and to be part of the successful history of the S&P 500.''
S&P 500 Sector Futures To Trade on CME
Standard & Poor's and CME used the occasion to announce their agreement to launch S&P 500 Sector Futures contracts. S&P's Sector Indices include Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Financials, Health Care, Industrials, Information Technology, Materials, Telecommunication Services and Utilities. CME will name the specific sectors and industries to be traded and their launch dates in the near future.
``By adding futures on S&P's sector and industry group indexes, we build on this successful business relationship by providing investors ways to fine-tune their risk management and investment strategies in the sectors and industries they choose,'' said McNulty. ``As the global leader in stock index futures trading, CME strives to offer its customers the tools for the most effective trading strategies on a single exchange.''
``The new S&P 500 Sectors futures contracts will follow the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), developed jointly by Standard & Poor's and Morgan Stanley Capital International, and will offer investors flexible risk management tools for increasingly popular sector-oriented portfolio strategies,'' said Paul Aaronson, Executive Managing Director, Standard & Poor's. ``We are delighted to expand our relationship with CME to meet this investor need.''
CME launched S&P 500 futures trading on April 21, 1982. Options on S&P 500 futures were added in January 1983. In 1995, CME and Standard & Poor's further expanded their relationship with the listing of futures and options on S&P 500/BARRA Growth and Value Indices. E-mini S&P 500 futures, electronically traded smaller-sized versions of CME's successful original contact, were launched in September 1997 and quickly became one of CME's fastest growing products. The underlying value of S&P 500 index futures traded on CME in 2001 totaled $8.94 trillion.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. ( www.cme.com ) is the largest futures exchange in the United States and the second largest exchange in the world for the trading of futures and options on futures. As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX around-the-clock electronic trading platform. CME offers futures contracts and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indices, foreign exchange and commodities. The exchange moves about $1.5 billion per day in settlement payments and manages $28.2 billion in collateral deposits. CME is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc.
Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, provides independent financial information, analytical services and credit ratings to the world's financial markets.
Among the company's many products are the S&P Global 1200, the world's first real-time, investable global equity index, the S&P 500, the premier U.S. portfolio index, and credit ratings on more than 220,000 securities and funds worldwide. With more than 5,000 employees located in 18 countries, Standard & Poor's is an integral part of the global financial infrastructure.
S&P, S&P 500 and other trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks that are not proprietary to Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. are the property of their respective owners, and are used herein under license. |
