Euronext Amsterdam Trading Statistics April 2001 - Index Options Flavour Of The Month

April proved to be another extremely busy month for bond trading at Euronext Amsterdam's stock market, with the number of bonds traded soaring by 47.7% compared to the same month last year. Trading in shares dropped 12.4% compared to April 2000, while total turnover on the stock market in the first four months of the year rose to ? 722.4 billion, up 5.3% on the corresponding period last year.

Index options were the most popular product on Euronext Amsterdam's derivatives market in April, with turnover in these contracts rising sharply by 32.7%. There was also a significant increase in the number of equity options traded, reaching 18.8 million during the first four months of the year, a rise of 20.8% compared to the same period last year. In the first four months of 2001, 18.7% more options and futures contracts were traded than in the corresponding period last year.

Euronext Amsterdam's commodities market saw heavy trading in potato options and futures, with the number of potato futures contracts shooting up by 66.6% and the number of potato option contracts sky-rocketing 188.1% compared to April last year. Trading in pig futures fell after several busy months.