A total of 92,396,487 contracts (62,643,922 calls, 29,752,565 puts) changed hands in the first quarter of the year at CBOE, surpassing 1999's first quarter record of 55,036,896 contracts by 68%. Year-to-date stock option volume also reached a record high of 78,071,209 contracts (56,280,331 calls, 21,790,878 puts) traded, an increase of 92% over the previous record of 40,749,986 contracts set last year.
Total exchange-wide volume at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) reached 35,176,764 contracts (24,363,302 calls and 10,813,462 puts) in March representing an increase of 76% over year ago levels.
Exchange-wide open interest was 103% higher than at the close of March last year, standing at 42,656,203 contracts (25,663,186 calls and 16,993,017 puts) at month's end. Average daily volume for the month of March at the CBOE was 1,529,425 contracts representing a 76% increase over March 1999 levels of 869,292 contracts.
Year-to-date stock option volume also reached a record high 78,071,209 contracts (56,280,331 calls, 21,790,878 puts), an increase of 92% over the previous year-to-date record of 40,749,986 contracts at the close of March last year. For the month of March stock option volume at CBOE totaled 29,981,398 contracts (22,047,397 calls and 7,934,001 puts), an impressive increase of 104% over the year-ago levels of 14,675,569 contracts (10,318,986 calls and 4,356,583 puts) for March. Average daily volume in CBOE's longer-term stock options (LEAPS®) was 87,865 contracts. Total volume in equity LEAPS for the month was 2,020,898 contracts, an increase of 82% over March last year.
Total index option volume for March at CBOE was 5,187,940 contracts (2,313,312 calls and 2,874,628 puts), a decrease of 2.5% over year ago levels. Trading in S&P 500® Index options (SPX) reached 2,343,905 contracts (1,070,873 calls and 1,273,032 puts), an increase of 13% increase over year ago levels. Open interest in SPX stood at 1,908,927 contracts.
Trading volume for the month of March in S&P 100® Index options (OEX®) was 1,894,851 contracts (803,840 calls and 1,091,011) puts. Total volume in Options on the Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM (DJX) was 514,871 contracts (286,238 calls and 228,633 puts). Average DJX daily volume was 22,386 contracts. Volume in the Nasdaq 100 Index® Options (NDX) in March was 212,564 contracts (82,010 calls and 130,554 puts), an increase of 100% over March 1999 levels.
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.
