Open interest in all CBOE listed options stood at 69,249,528 contracts at month's end, an increase of 73% over the end of July last year, when open interest stood at 40,118,882 contracts. Total volume at CBOE decreased by 4% to 23,011,071 contracts (13,530,235 calls and 9,480,836 puts) from 23,990,023 contracts in July 2000. In July, CBOE exchange-wide average daily volume for the month was 1,095,765 contracts, a decrease of 9% from July 2000.
Options on the Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM (DJX) led the major index gains at CBOE. DJX volume increased 169% to 542,905 contracts, from 202,136 contracts in July 2000.
Trading in S&P 500® Index options (SPXTM) totaled 1,612,456 contracts (664,385 calls and 948,071 puts), an increase of 25% over July 2000 volume of 1,287,294 contracts. Trading in SPX LEAPS totaled 91,700 contracts in July, an increase of 168% over July 2000 volume of 34,189 contracts. Trading volume for the month of July in S&P 100® Index options (OEX®) was 752,469 contracts (341,736 calls and 410,733 puts). On July 23, CBOE launched the XEO, a new S&P 100® Index option with European-style exercise. In its seven days of trading, XEO volume totaled 4,631 contracts.
CBOE's most heavily traded product, options on the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking StockSM (QQQ), has continued to exceed volume expectations since its launch on February 27. QQQ volume reached 2,105,399 contracts (1,284,161 calls and 821,238 puts) for the month of July, making it the most actively traded index option at CBOE for the fourth month in a row. The success of the QQQ is reflected in the total index option volume.
Trading volume in CBOE's popular index product, the MNXSM, based on one-tenth of the Nasdaq-100 Index®, continued to post impressive figures with 384,404 contracts (199,565 calls and 184,839 puts) traded in July. MNX options had an average daily volume of 18,305 contracts in July. Open interest in MNX stood at 641,081 contracts at the end of July.
Volume in Nasdaq-100 Index® (NDXSM) options totaled 86,506 contracts for the month, an 18% decrease from the July 2000 volume of 105,799 contracts. Open interest in NDX stood at 69,379 contracts.
Stock option volume for the month of July totaled 17,271,781 contracts (10,676,689 calls and 6,595,092 puts), a decrease of 19% from July 2000's stock option volume of 21,388,343 contracts. Open interest in stock options stood at 61,798,573 contracts (39,798,446 calls and 22,000,127 puts) at the end of July, an increase of 69% over the close of July 2000 when open interest stood at 36,571,494 contracts.
Volume in equity LEAPSTM (Long-Term Equity AnticiPation Securities®) continued to increase in July, as investors employed longer-term options in response to market uncertainty. Total volume in equity LEAPS totaled 1,069,512 contracts, a 6% increase over July 2000 volume of 1,012,402 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, access the CBOE site on the World Wide Web at http://www.cboe.com.
