CBOE Sets All Time Annual And Monthly Volume Records: Sets Single Day Volume Record - Average Daily Volume At Record Levels

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced yesterday that it set new records in annual and monthly volume. Total option volume during the month of November set a new record for monthly volume and average daily volume. The record setting month already guarantees a new annual volume record at CBOE for 1999. November year-to-date volume soared to a record 226,477,305 option contracts (143,291,504 calls, 83,185,801 puts), which surpasses the total number of contracts traded in 1998, which was a record setting volume year. A total of 27,162,658 option contracts (18,173,055 calls, 8,989,603 puts) traded during the month of November at CBOE, surpassing the previous monthly record of 25,716,989 contracts which was set just in October. Volume in November averaged 1,293,460 contracts daily, surpassing October's record pace of 1,224,619 contracts. CBOE also established a new month's end record for open interest at the close of November when total open interest stood at 26,626,381 contracts. The previous high at month's end was posted at the close of October, 1999 when open interest stood at 22,092,706. Average daily volume in stock options passed the million contract mark for the first time ever with an average of 1,082,347 stock option contracts trading. The previous record of 972,194 contracts was set in October of 1999. The single day volume record for stock options was broken on November 19, 1999 when stock option volume reached 1,674,921 contracts. The previous single-day record was set on October 15, 1999 when 1,651,165 contracts changed hands. CBOE now lists options on more than 1,400 stocks. Total stock option volume during the month of November was a record with 22,729,285 contracts (16,299,861 calls and 6,429,424 puts) changing hands. That beat the previous record of 20,416,067 contracts that traded in October, 1999. Year-to-date volume in stock options was a record, with 174,602,171 traded so far this year. At the close of the month, open interest in stock options stood at a record high 40,457,360 contracts, an increase of 23% over the record setting level of 32,922,53 contracts reached at the close of October, 1999. Monthly volume in long dated options on stock, equity LEAPS?, was a record breaking 1,500,766 contracts for November. The previous record was set in April, 1999 when 1,221,429 equity LEAPS contracts traded. Average daily volume for November in equity LEAPS was 71,465 contracts per day, an increase of 157% over year-ago November levels. Trading was active in Equity FLexible EXchange (FLEX) options, which allow investors to customize key contract terms, with volume reaching 155,486 contracts (81,824 calls and 73,662 puts) in November, and average daily volume reached 7,404 contracts. Open interest in Equity FLEX stood at 534,786 at the end of November. Total index option volume for November at CBOE was 4,430,449 contracts (1,872,130 calls, 2,558,319 puts), down 6% from November 1998. Open interest in the indexes stood at 4,754,003 at the end of November, up 6.3% over last month's close. Trading volume for the month of November in S&P 500? Index options (SPX) was 2,183,599 contracts (975,867 calls, 1,207,732 puts), an increase of 7% over year-ago levels. Open interest in SPX options stood at 2,624,154 contracts at the end of November, up 9.5% over the close of November a year-ago. Trading in S&P 100? Index options (OEX) totaled 1,702,008 contracts (702,868 calls, 999,140 puts). Open interest in OEX stood at 266,166 contracts. Volume in options on the NASDAQ-100 Index (NDX) increased 99% over year-ago levels, for a total of 161,423 contracts (49,797 calls and 111,626 puts) as investors apparently used NDX put options to hedge tech-laden portfolios. Monthly volume in Options on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJX), traded exclusively at CBOE, was 199,293 contracts (61,190 calls, 138,103 puts). Open interest in DJX options stood at 590,963 contracts, which was 50% higher than the previous month's close and 102% higher than the close of November a year ago. CBOE, the pioneer of listed options and the world's largest options marketplace, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For additional information about the CBOE and its products, visit the CBOE web site at http://www.cboe.com.