Eurex US has confirmed 4 February as the launch date for its new futures on the US large-cap Russell 1000 index and the US small-cap Russell 2000 index. The introduction of these products expands Eurex US’s product portfolio to include index derivatives for the first time.
“The new equity index derivatives suite reinforces Eurex US’s commitment to offering customers access to a full range of US and European products, pending approval by the CFTC,” says Satish Nandapurkar, CEO of Eurex US. “This new asset class will be supported by a strong network of market makers, ensuring liquidity and creating low cost trading opportunities for our customers.”
To provide basis liquidity in this new market, 15 firms have already agreed to act as market makers for the new futures on the Russell 1000 index and the US small cap Russell 2000. These firms will provide additional liquidity and increase order book depth by continuously quoting prices and offering competitive spreads. Market makers will be active during the core US trading hours (8:30 am to 3:00pm CST).
Eurex US will waive all trading fees for all market participants for the first three months of trading in the Russell products. After this initial fee waiver, proprietary and market maker transaction fees will be US 2.5 cents for trades executed in the order book and U.S. 30 cents per side for Over-The-Counter (OTC) trades. Customer transaction fees will be US 50 cents per side for trades executed in the order book and OTC trades will be subject to a surcharge of 30 cents per side.
“Eurex US has gained good support from market makers and offered a three month fee waiver in the trading of these products to ensure a solid start of trading,” says Kelly Haughton, strategic director of Russell indexes. “With Phase I of the Global Clearing Link in place and the introduction of Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 futures on Eurex US, American traders will be able to more efficiently spread the U.S. and European markets.”
The large-cap Russell 1000 index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization. The Russell 2000 measures the performance of the 2000 companies following the Russell 1000 components and is the industry standard for U.S. mid-cap companies.