The Chicago Board Options Exchange announced Thursday it added DIAMONDS (DIA) options to its Hybrid Trading System, with 60,798 DIA contracts trading through the system on its opening day.
The DIAMONDS options brings the number of index options available for trading on the CBOE Hybrid Trading System to 36, including options on the S&P 500 Depositary Receipts, Mini-Nasdaq 100 Index and Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock. All of CBOEs 1,761 equity options are traded on the Hybrid Trading System, which first launched in June 2003.
“We are extremely pleased to now offer the very popular DIAMONDS ETF options on our Hybrid Trading System, giving customers the ultimate combination of liquidity, speed of execution and transparency,” said CBOE Chairman and CEO William J. Brodsky, in a statement. “The Dow Jones Index-linked products have grown in popularity since CBOE first listed Options on the Dow, DJX, in 1997 and DIA options in 2002, as investors have become aware of their tremendous utility as a hedging tool, and as an efficient, low risk way to take a position on the direction of the market.”
DIAMONDS represent shares in an exchange-traded fund designed to track the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), that trades like a stock. Options on DIAMONDS provide investors with exposure to the Dow Jones Industrial Average in one transaction, which can also offer the benefit of limited risk. Buyers of DIAMONDS options have pre-determined risk that is limited to the amount of premium paid.