CBOE's 2005 Volume Rises 30% To 468 Million Contracts - Second Consecutive All-Time Record Year Driven By 41% Growth In Index And Exchange Traded Fund Options Business

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced today that, for the second consecutive year, annual trading volume at CBOE posted a new all-time record. The 468.2 million contracts traded in 2005 represented the busiest year in CBOE history and a 30% increase over 2004's record total of 361.1 million contracts.

Trading in index and exchange traded fund (ETF) options experienced explosive growth in 2005 with volume reaching 192.5 million contracts, a new record for annual index option volume at CBOE, and an increase of 41% over 2004's total of 136.7 million. Several of CBOE's index and ETF options logged record annual volume in 2005, including options on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), Russell 2000 Index (RUT), and the iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM). Trading in equity options at CBOE was 275.6 million contracts, 23% above 2004's total of 224.3 million.

For 2005, it is estimated that CBOE traded more than $12.8 trillion in notional value over the course of the year.


Exchange Volume, 2005:
Exchange
-Total Exchange Volume: 468,249,301 contracts, +30% vs 2004
-Average Daily Volume: 1,858,132 contracts
-Open Interest: 180,546,883 contracts, +17% vs year-ago

Index
-Total Index Option Volume: 192,536,695 contracts, +41% vs 2004
-Average Daily Volume: 764,035 contracts
-Open Interest: 29,381,746 contracts, +27% vs year-ago

Equity
-Total Equity Option Volume: 275,646,980 contracts, +23% vs 2004
-Average Daily Volume: 1,093,837 contracts
-Open Interest: 151,157,355 contracts, +15% vs year-ago


Exchange Volume, December 2005:
Total Volume
-40,870,748 contracts
-1,946,226 contracts, average daily volume
-+33% vs year-ago (December 04)


Some of the all-time CBOE volume records set in 2005:
Exchange
-Total exchange, yearly volume: 468,249,301 contracts
-Total exchange, monthly volume: 49,622,561 contracts (October)
-Total exchange, average daily volume in a month: 2,362,979 contracts/day (October)
-Total exchange, single-day volume: 3,969,548 contracts (April 15)
-The top ten busiest single trading days in CBOE history all occurred in 2005

Index & Equity
-Total index options, yearly volume: 192,536,695 contracts
-Total index options, monthly volume: 21,942,688 contracts (October)
-Total index options, single-day volume: 2,060,745 contracts (December 15)
-Total equity options, single-day volume: 2,428,957 contracts (April 15)

Individual Products
-S&P 500 Index options (SPX), yearly volume: 71,802,558 contracts
-S&P 500 Index options, monthly volume: 8,237,059 contracts (October)
-S&P 500 Index options, weekly volume: 2,709,318 contracts (October 17-21)
-S&P 500 Index options, single-day volume: 801,974 contracts (September 16)
-S&P 500 Index options (SPX), month-end open interest:8,196,611 contracts (October)
-S&P 100 Index options, European settlement (XEO), monthly volume: 232,330 contracts(October)
-SPDRs options (SPY), monthly volume: 1,972,904 contracts (October)
-SPDRs options, single-day volume: 589,858 contracts (December 15)
-Options on DIAMONDS (DIA), monthly volume: 1,219,572 contracts (October)
-Nasdaq-100 Index options (NDX), yearly volume: 6,341,052 contracts
-Nasdaq-100 Index options, monthly volume: 680,136 contracts (November)
-Nasdaq-100 Index options, single-day volume: 169,163 contracts (December 16)
-CBOE Mini-NDX Index options, monthly volume: 757,291 contracts (August)
-CBOE Mini-NDX Index options, single-day volume: 103,183 contracts (December 15)
-Russell 2000 Index options (RUT), yearly volume: 1,086,807 contracts
-iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund options (IWM), yearly volume:16,223,925 contracts
-iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund options, monthly volume:2,672,277 contracts (October)
-iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund options, single-day volume:303,001 contracts (July 6)

December highlights at CBOE included:
-Volume in index options was 16.5 million contracts, an increase of 41% over December 2004. The top five most-actively traded index options were: S&P 500 Index (SPX), Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ), Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts (SPY), S&P 100 Index (OEX), and iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM).
-December volume in stock option classes rose 29% over last year as 24.4 million contracts were traded. The top five most-actively traded equity options during the month were: Altria Group, Inc. (MO), General Motors (GM), Pfizer, Inc. (PFE), Google Inc. (GOOG), and Apple Computer, Inc. (AAPL).
-December volume in options on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) of 549,388 contracts was up 98% over December 2004, while volume of 2,497,509 contracts in options on the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ) increased 10% over the year-ago level.
-At CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE), December volume totaled 6,040 contracts traded, while at the end of December, open interest stood at 10,603 contracts. On the year, CFE's first full year of trading, total volume for 2005 was 177,046 contracts.CFE trades futures on 25 contracts, including: the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), CBOE DJIA Volatility Index, CBOE S&P 500 Three-Month Variance, CBOE China Index, Mini-Russell 1000 and 2000 Indexes, (12) PowerPacks sector indexes, and "Gas at the Pump."

CBOE, the world's largest options marketplace and the creator of listed options, is regulated by the SEC. For additional information about the CBOE and its products, access the CBOE website at: http://www.cboe.com/