CBOE at Record Volume Pace For Year. Internet Index Volume Up; OEX and SPX Open Interest Increase

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) kept pace with record breaking year-to-date volume levels during July. Sector index volume, led by the internet indexes, increased 49% over year-to-date July, 1998. Total option volume at the CBOE hit a new year-to-date record for July of 131,942,835 contracts (84,322,066 calls and 47,620,769 puts) which is 13.3 % ahead of last year's record setting year-to-date pace of 116,435,075 contracts. During the month of July, a total of 18,838,239 option contracts (12,028,006 calls and 6,810,233 puts) changed hands at the CBOE, a 6.3% increase over year ago levels. Average daily volume in all CBOE listed options during July was 897,059 contracts, 11.4% higher than year-ago July levels. A new record was set for exchange wide open interest at month's end, when open interest stood at 24,417,811 contracts at the close of July. The previous month end record was set at the end of June, 1999 when open interest stood at 23,669,551 contracts. Year-to-date volume in stock options set a record of 99,708,745 contracts (70,715,042 calls and 28,993,703 puts), an increase of 27% over the previous year-to-date July record of 78,526,631 contracts set at the close of July, 1998. During the month of July, 1999 a total of 14,673,468 stock option contracts (10,282,165 calls and 4,391,303 puts) traded, an increase of 16% over July 1998. A new month's end record for open interest in stock options was established at the close of July, when open interest stood at 20,400,346 contracts (12,885,186 calls and 7,515,160 puts. The previous month-end record of 20,069,165 contracts was set at the close of June, 1999. Total index option volume for July at CBOE was 4,160,775 contracts (1,744,262 calls and 2,416,513 puts). Trading in S&P 100® Index options (OEX®) totaled 1,885,984 contracts (853,955 calls and 1,032,029 puts). Open interest in the OEX stood at 359,220 contracts, an increase of 14.5% over the previous month's end level. Trading volume for the month of July in the S&P 500® Index options (SPX) was 1,699,832 contracts (673,289 calls and 1,026,543 puts). Open interest in SPX options stood at 2,032,227 contracts at the end of July, an increase of 20% over the close of June, 1999. Volume in Options on the Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM (DJX) totaled 285,773 contracts (111,999 calls and 173,774 puts) for the month of July. Open interest stood at 343,579 contracts at month's end. Active trading in CBOE's internet indexes resulted in a 39% increase over July 1998 levels in overall sector indexes. Volume in the CBOE Internet Index (INX) stood at a total of 4,857 contracts for the month. Volume in the GSTI Internet Index (GIN) was 3,627 contracts. Volume in the Dow Jones Internet Commerce Index (ECM) was 2,436 contracts. 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, visit the new CBOE web site at http://www.cboe.com.