CBOE On Track For Record Breaking Fiscal Year

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced today that total volume at the Exchange during the month of April reached 28,413,006 contracts (17,968,314 calls and 10,444,692 puts), a 32% increase over year-ago levels, maintaining the pace for another record setting fiscal year. Average daily volume for all options at CBOE was 1,495,421 contracts. A single day trading record was set this month when 2,388,759 contracts changed hands on April 14th amidst heavy trading in the NASDAQ 100 Index Options (NDX). Exchange-wide open interest at the end of April stood at 39,463,037 contracts (23,831,420 calls and 15,631,617 puts), an increase of 72% over the close of April, 1999.

Stock option trading continued to be brisk at CBOE during April, led by heavy trading activity in classes such as Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), America Online, Inc. (AOL) and Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO). Total stock option volume was 23,911,619 contracts (16,127,158 calls and 7,784,461 puts) at CBOE during April, an increase of 43% over year-ago levels. Average daily volume in stock options during April was 1,258,506 contracts. Open interest in stock options stood at 33,510,206 contracts at month's end, 87% higher than the close of April 1999.

Monthly volume in Nasdaq 100 Index® Options (NDX) rose to 352,748 contracts (121,421 calls and 231,327 puts), an increase of 252% over April 1999. Monthly trading in Options on the Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM (DJX) showed an increase of 33% over year-ago levels, with 462,455 contracts (187,496 calls and 274,959 puts) trading. Average daily volume for the DJX was 24,340 contracts.

Trading volume for April in S&P 500® Index options (SPX) was 1,907,012 contracts (785,231 calls and 1,121,781 puts). Volume in S&P 100® Index options (OEX®) was 1,584,806 contracts (678,660 calls and 906,146 puts).

CBOE trades options on more than 40 different indexes. Overall, total index option volume for April at CBOE was 4,498,683 contracts (1,839,435 calls and 2,659,248 puts).

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.