The new equity options open for electronic trading on Euronext Paris effective today are: ALLIANZ AG (Germany), BASF AG (Germany), BAYER AG (Germany), BAYERISCHE HYPO & VEREINSBANK (Germany), BSCH (Spain), DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG (Germany), DEUTSCHE BANK AG (Germany), DRESDNER BANK AG (Germany), NOKIA OYJ (Finland), SIEMENS AG (Germany) and TELEFONICA SA (Spain).
Euronext Amsterdam already offers options on the European companies DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Nokia and Telefonica.
"The new options fit very well in the equity derivatives family of Euronext. It will give investors an even better opportunity to trade on our pan European market" says Rudolf de Soet, General Manager derivatives of Euronext.
Euronext already lists options on 26 of the total fifty Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50SM component stocks, including 17 French, 8 Dutch, and one Belgian company. The 11 new contracts round out this offering, with options on the 13 remaining stocks set to follow shortly, ensuring coverage of all index components.
The 11 European options launched today are short-term, American-style contracts that can be exercised any time to maturity. Traded continuously, they cover five expiration dates, three monthly (November, December, January) and two quarterly (March and June). Trading closes the third Friday of the corresponding month.
Euronext was launched 22 September 2000, following the merger of the Amsterdam (AEX), Brussels (BXS) and Paris exchanges. Euronext offers the world's first fully integrated cross-border market for equities, derivatives and commodities, from listing and trading through to clearing, settlement and data-dissemination. On September 30, more than 1800 companies were listed on Euronext, representing a total market capitalization of EUR 2,556 billion. In the first nine months of the year, trade volumes totaled EUR 1,248 billion.
