CBOE® Announces Record Volume In XEO(sm): S&P 100® Index Options With European-Style Exercise

The Chicago Board Options Exchange® (CBOE), the world's largest options exchange, announced that a single-day volume record was set in XEO options today when approximately 63,661contracts (20,647 calls and 43,014 puts) traded. Launched on July 23, 2001 and traded exclusively at CBOE, XEO options are based on the Standard & Poor's® 100 Index and are European-style exercise. A European-style option may be exercised only at its expiration.

CBOE created this new product in response to customer requests for an S&P 100 Index option that does not carry the possibility of early assignment. CBOE created the first exchange-traded index options, OEX®, based on the Standard & Poor's 100 Index, in 1983. OEX is American-style exercise, which allows the buyer to exercise the option anytime prior to its expiration. OEX remains one of the most actively traded indexes in the world.

Index options can be used by investors to trade the broad market in a single transaction, or to manage the risk of a broad market portfolio without disrupting the make-up of the portfolio. Buyers of options risk only the premium paid; thus the investment risk is both known and limited.

CBOE, the world's largest options marketplace and the creator of listed options, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For additional information about the CBOE and its products, access the CBOE site on the World Wide Web at http://www.cboe.com.