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CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced the launch of S&P 500(R) Weekly Options contracts scheduled to begin trading August 24. These contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Weekly options on standard and E-mini(R) S&P 500 futures contracts will expire European-style on the first and second Friday of each month. The new product will complete the suite of S&P 500 options products that include end of month, serial and quarterly expiration cycles.
"With the launch of the two weekly contracts, CME Group continues to meet customer demand for flexible option expirations," said Thomas Boggs, CME Group Director of Equity Products and Services. "Expanding the number of expirations not only provides for more trading opportunities, the increased flexibility also can provide for more efficient position management."
At expiration, the exchange will calculate a special fixing price (applied to both the E-mini and standard-size S&P 500 weekly options) based on the weighted-average trading price of E-mini S&P 500 futures in the last 30 seconds (2:59:30 - 3:00:00) before the 3:00 pm options expiration. This price will be disseminated immediately using the symbol ESF.
Standard S&P Weekly Options will trade daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Chicago time in open outcry and on CME Globex(R) Monday through Thursday 3:30 p.m. to 8:15 a.m. with a 30-minute pause for maintenance from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 8:15 a.m. E-mini S&P Weekly Options will trade Monday through Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. with a 30-minute pause for maintenance 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
