The revised block trading rule will permit trades in standard-sized Nasdaq-100 futures subject to a 200-contract minimum threshold and limited to outright transactions only. The minimum threshold for black trades in options on standard-sized Nasdaq-100 futures will be reduced to 100 contracts from the current minimum of 250 contracts.
AON trading will be permitted in standard-sized Nasdaq-100 futures and options, with a 50 contract minimum. AON spread trading is also permitted, if one leg of the spread is at least 50 contract.
A block transaction is a privately negotiated futures or option transaction executed apart from the public auction market. Block transactions may be executed by eligible parties on or off CME trading floors. The trades must be priced at "fair and reasonable" levels in light of the size of the transaction and the circumstances of the parties to the transaction. AON is a pit order execution convention allowing customers to request a single price for a specified quantity of contracts or combinations. Counter-parties then respond with the price at which they are willing to execute the entire order. An EFP is an exchange of an underlying cash position for futures by private negotiation between two parties.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is an international marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX®2 around-the-clock electronic trading system. CME offers futures contracts and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange and commodities. The exchange moves about $1.5 billion per day in settlement payments and manages $28.4 billion in collateral deposits.
