OneChicago – the electronic trading joint venture between the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade – had a record month in March, eclipsing previous monthly volume, average daily volume and open interest records.
The exchange saw a total of 765,424 contracts trade in March, which is 104% higher than the old monthly record of 375,463 set in March 2004. Average daily volume was 34,792 contracts and open interest reached 551,501 contracts before the quarterly expiration. Year-to-date volume is 64% ahead of first quarter 2004.
“Our volume soared in March as a result of the participation of new customers,” says Marty Doyle, President of OneChicago. “We expect our business to continue to grow as we welcome additional new firms and traders who are recognizing the various ways single stock futures can meet their portfolio needs.”
The top five single stock futures contracts by volume in March were: Pfizer (PFE1C) Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM1C) Citigroup Inc. (C1C) Intel Corp. (INTC1C) Johnson & Johnson (JNJ1C) Beginning today, the Exchange listed 24 new futures on stocks bringing the total to 160 single stock futures, including futures on the DIAMONDS Trust.