CME Delays Opening Of Its U.S. Equity Markets By 2 Minutes To Show Support Of U.S. Troops

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME) today announced that it will delay the opening of its U.S. stock index futures and options on futures markets by two minutes this morning. Trading in those products will begin at 8:32 a.m., CST. The delayed opening is in coordination with the New York Stock Exchange and other markets to demonstrate support of U.S. troops fighting in the war.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is the largest futures exchange in the United States and the second largest exchange in the world for the trading of futures and options on futures. As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX around-the-clock electronic trading platform. CME offers futures and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange and commodities. The exchange moves an average of about $1.8 billion per day in settlement payments and manages $27.4 billion in collateral deposits. On Dec. 6, 2002, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CME) and its CME subsidiary became the first publicly traded U.S. financial exchange.