CBOE Index Volume Up 7% In May

Index options volume for the month of May at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) increased 7% over May of last year. For the month, total index options volume was 6,885,712 contracts (3,278,071 calls and 3,607,641 puts) traded. The growth in total index options volume was a result of strong gains posted in volume in options on the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX), S&P 100 Index (OEX), S&P 500 Index (SPX), Russell 2000 Index (RUT) and the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ). Additionally, on May 20, CBOE began listing options on DIAMONDS (DIA). DIAMONDS Trust, Series I, are shares in an exchange-traded fund designed to track the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). For its nine days of trading, volume totaled 47,689 contracts, with open interest standing at 52,853 contracts at the close of May.

Total exchange volume for the month of May was 21,276,848 contracts (11,995,631 calls and 9,281,217 puts) traded, a decrease of 28% from the May 2001 level of 29,454,146 contracts traded. CBOE exchange-wide average daily volume for the month was 967,129 contracts, compared to May 2001's average daily volume of 1,338,825 contracts. Stock option volume for the month totaled 14,387,979 contracts (8,716,158 calls and 5,671,821 puts) traded, a decrease of 30% from May 2001's level of 20,681,666 contracts.

Open interest continued to rise in May, with open interest in all listed options standing at 81,135,622 contracts (48,753,622 calls and 32,382,000 puts) at month's end, an increase of 7% versus May 2001, when open interest stood at 75,768,785 contracts. Open interest in all CBOE index options stood at 11,055,084 contracts (5,804,409 calls and 5,250,675 puts), up 46% versus May 2001 when index open interest stood at 7,555,113 contracts. Open interest in all CBOE equity options stood at 70,073,359 contracts (42,946,967 calls and 27,126,392 puts) at the end of May, an increase of 3% versus May 2001 when equity open interest stood at 68,207,969 contracts.

Pacing the overall gains in index volume at CBOE were options on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), the most actively traded index during May. For the month, 2,046,521 contracts traded, an increase of 10% over the May 2001 volume of 1,854,338 contracts. Open interest in SPX stood at 3,425,323 contracts at the end of May, an increase of 6% over year-ago levels.

Volume for the month of May in options on the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ) totalled 1,951,468 contracts traded, an increase of 5% over the 1,852,576 contracts traded in May 2001. Open interest in the QQQ stood at 4,947,776 contracts at the end of the month.

Total volume during May for options on the S&P 100 Index was 1,179,433 contracts traded. Volume in the S&P 100 Index options (OEX) was 1,007,058 contracts traded, up 33% over the 754,994 contracts traded last May. Open interest in OEX stood at 235,988 contracts at the end of May, an increase of 21% over May 2001. Volume in the S&P 100 Index options with European-style exercise (XEO), launched on July 23 last year, was 172,375 contracts traded.

Volume during the month of May in Options on the Dow (DJX) totaled 794,228 contracts traded, an increase of 19% from May 2001's level of 665,948 contracts. Open interest in DJX options stood at 767,024 at month's end, an increase of 4% over last year.

Volume for the month of May in the Russell 2000 Index options (RUT) totaled 41,523 contracts traded, an increase of 189% from the May 2001 total of 14,385 contracts. Year-to-date volume in RUT at the end of May was 120,005 contracts traded, up 2% over the year-ago year-to-date total of 117,120 contracts traded. Open interest in RUT stood at 123,050 contracts, up 620% from the end of May last year.

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 website at http://www.cboe.com.