CME to Launch Option on E-mini NASDAQ-100 Futures Contracts
Seven Firms to Serve as Market Makers for New Product
CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2004 – As part of its growth strategy for options, CME, the largest futures exchange in the U.S., today announced it will launch new equity options on E-mini™ NASDAQ-100® futures contracts – a smaller sized, electronically traded version of CME’s standard NASDAQ-100 futures, which track the NASDAQ-100 Index. E-mini NASDAQ-100 equity options contracts will be listed for trading at 5:00 p.m., Central Time, on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2004.
To help ensure liquidity in this new market, CME will select seven firms to commit to provide continuous, transparent and competitive markets for the exchange’s E-mini NASDAQ-100 equity options traded on CME Globex®. In addition, the current CME Globex customer electronic trading fee waiver for the CME’s E-Mini S&P 500® options on futures contracts will also be extended to E-mini NASDAQ-100 options.
"The addition of our new E-mini NASDAQ-100 equity options is a natural extension of CME’s equity complex and is further evidence of our efforts to increase trading volume for our core product groups,” said CME Chairman Terry Duffy. “It also provides investors with an alternative tool to either leverage or hedge movements in the high-tech equity market.”
“Promoting growth in our financial options market is a key element of CME’s overall growth strategy and, with enhanced technology, we have made significant strides in recent months,” stated Craig Donohue, CME’s Chief Executive Officer. Since launching our enhanced options system technology platform in August, volume in CME Eurodollar options has increased to an average daily volume of more than 9,200 in October.”
Donohue added, “Last month, to facilitate continued growth in our E-mini S&P 500 equity options market, we introduced a nine-month CME Globex customer fee waiver and selected seven firms as market makers. Average daily volume for the first seven trading days of November has averaged about 4,500 contracts and open interest is at a record of more than 48,000 contracts.”
Following are the specifications for the contract:
Contract Size:
One E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index futures contract
Contract Month:
Two quarterly expiration months
Two serial expiration months
CME Globex
Trading Hours:
3:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Shut down from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Start up on Sunday at 5:00 pm
Minimum Tick
.05 Index points = $1.00
Position limits
5000 standard size NASDAQ-100 equivalents
Last trading day
The third Friday of contract month
8:30 a.m. for quarterly expirations
3:15 p.m. for serials expirations
Exercise price
Interval
10 index points
“Options on futures are a powerful risk management tool and, over time, we anticipate further expanding our industry-leading range of equity options to better meet our customers’ needs,” said Tina Lemieux, Director, Equity Products.
The NASDAQ-100 Index reflects NASDAQ’s largest non-financial companies across major industry groups, including computer, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade, and biotechnology. Since its inception in June 1999, E-mini NASDAQ-100 futures have become one of the most successful and fastest-growing products in CME history with average daily volume up year-to-date 16 percent from the full year 2003. They are also among the most liquid stock index contracts in the world.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is the largest futures exchange in the United States. As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX® electronic trading platform. CME offers futures and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange and commodities. The exchange moved about $1.6 billion per day in settlement payments in the first half of 2004 and managed $39.1 billion in collateral deposits as of June 30, 2004. CME is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CME), which is part of the Russell 1000® Index.
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. More detailed information about factors that may affect our performance may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which can be obtained at its Web site at www.sec.gov. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME, the globe logo and GLOBEX are registered trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. E-mini is a trademark of CME. CLEARING 21 is a registered trademark of CME and New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. S&P, S&P 500, NASDAQ-100, Nikkei 225, Russell 1000, Russell 2000, TRAKRS, Total Return Asset Contracts 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. |
