Eurex today launched 27 new options as well as the related LEPOs (low price equity options) on French equities. It means Eurex now offers nearly all of the equities in the CAC 40 French benchmark index as options on the Eurex platform.
Eurex says it is the only exchange to make French equity options available to its participants with two expiration dates (third Friday of the month and month-end expiration). With the introduction of the new products, Eurex customers will be able to trade German, Finnish, French, Italian, Dutch and Swiss equity options on a single platform.
Eurex says activity levels in French equity options have increased considerably in recent months: Over 100,000 equity option contracts on French blue chips have been traded and cleared at Eurex in 2003 so far, roughly five times the number traded in the same period of last year (some 23,000 contracts). Eurex also claims to have made significant gains in market share, which now amounts to about 5 percent of the total market in worldwide trading of French equity options, in terms of the nominal value of the equity options traded (nominal value of the transactions). As in the Dutch segment, all of the French equity options at Eurex are supported by continuous market making: Market makers have an obligation to quote binding bid and ask prices in the order book on a continuous basis, and not just in response to quote requests. The most active participants are rewarded by Eurex with an attractive fee model. The minimum price movement for all French equity options tradable at Eurex is one eurocent, which gives participants the most effective hedging opportunities. All of the French equity options at Eurex are available for trading with terms of up to 24 months (maximum lifetime). Eurex also makes a facility available for block trades with a minimum order size of 250 contracts, which ensures that larger trades are executed.