CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) has announced that the exchange will list futures contracts on the Russell 1000 Index (ticker symbol RN) and the Mini-Russell 2000 Index (ticker symbol RT) for trading beginning Friday, 4 February 2005, pending final regulatory approval. CFE, which launched on 26 March 2004, is a new, all-electronic, futures exchange.
Futures contracts on both the full-size Russell 1000 Index and the mini-size Russell 2000 Index will trade electronically at CFE, via CBOEdirect, the exchange’s screen-based trading system. The full-size Russell 1000 Index will have a contract multiplier of $500 per point, while the Mini-Russell 2000 Index will have a contract multiplier of $100 per point.
Both contracts will be quoted in terms of the underlying index, have minimum price intervals of 0.05 of one index point, and will offer contract months of up to three near-term contracts months and five months in the March quarterly cycle. A more detailed listing of CFE’s currently anticipated contract specifications for futures on the Russell 1000 and Mini-Russell 2000 Indexes follows.
LaBranche Structured Products, LLC has been named the Designated Primary Market Maker (DPM) in the Russell 1000 Index futures and Timber Hill, LLC has been named the DPM in the Mini-Russell 2000 Index futures.
“With expiration months that more closely align with options cycles, the ability to trade these futures contracts electronically through CBOEdirect, a state-of-the art trading system with spreading capabilities, and liquidity provided by experienced equity derivative market makers, investors will find that CFE is a natural home for trading Russell index futures,” says Patrick Fay, Managing Director, CBOE Futures Exchange.
“Our agreement with the CFE will help create market efficiencies and reduce trading costs,” adds Kelly Haughton, strategic director for Russell indexes. “In addition to offering futures on the Russell 1000 Index, we are thrilled that the world’s newest futures exchange has decided to list mini-contracts on the Russell 2000 Index, broadening the base of market participants by giving retail investors the opportunity to gain exposure using the leading small-cap benchmark. 2005 is clearly shaping up to be a landmark year in the further distribution and availability of futures and options products based on Russell’s U.S. stock indexes.”