March volume at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) increased 15% over March 2004 volume, climbing to a total of 37,826,646 contracts traded.
Performance in equity options was particularly strong – up 23% for the month. Several major benchmark index products, including options on S&P 500 Index (SPX), which were up 32% over the year-ago total, options on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), up 45% over March 2004, and options on the Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts/SPDRs (SPY), which were up 39% over February 2005.
The CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) celebrated its one-year anniversary on 26 March. Total volume for CFE’s first full year of trading was 132,296 contracts. CFE currently trades five futures products – CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), CBOE S&P 500 Three-Month Variance Futures (VT), CBOE China Index (CX), Russell 1000 Index (RN), and Mini-Russell 2000 Index (RT) – and is expected to launch futures on the new CBOE DJIA Volatility Index (VXD) beginning April 25, 2005, pending regulatory approval. During March, CFE volume rose 15% over the previous month and set a new CFE trading record as 17,386 contracts traded, breaking the previous high of 15,157 contracts from February 2005. CFE’s March average daily volume was 790 contracts, while open interest stood at 11,280 contracts at theend of March, up 8% from the previous month.