Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology and market infrastructure, today announced that it has launched two new thematic equity index futures contracts: the ICE Biotechnology Gross Total Return (GTR) Index and the ICE Semiconductor GTR Index futures contracts.
The ICE Biotechnology GTR Index futures contract is cash-settled with a notional value equal to $100 times the ICE Biotechnology Index closing gross total return index value (Index symbol: ICEBIOT). The ICE Semiconductor GTR Index futures contract is also cash-settled and has a notional value equal to $50 times the ICE Semiconductor Index closing gross total return index value (Index symbol: ICESEMIT). Both contracts trade on ICE Futures U.S. The ICE Futures U.S. contract symbols are IUT for the ICE Biotechnology GTR Index futures and IUS for the ICE Semiconductor GTR Index futures contracts.
Both the ICE Biotechnology Index and the ICE Semiconductor Index are rules-based, modified float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted indices that track the performance of qualifying U.S. listed biotechnology companies and the thirty largest U.S. listed semiconductor companies respectively. These indices comprise stocks listed on major U.S. exchanges and are constructed using sector and industry classifications from the ICE Uniform Sector Classification Schema.
“The last two years have seen the narratives around public health and supply chain dynamics reach new levels of prominence and significance in our daily lives,” said Caterina Caramaschi, Global Head of Equity Derivatives at ICE. “The new futures contracts based on the ICE Biotechnology Index and ICE Semiconductor Index are designed to offer investors tools to manage exposure to these megatrends as they become increasingly important to global economies.”
“ICE indices have helped market participants capture exposure to some of the most dynamic trends that are shaping the global economy,” said Amanda Hindlian, President of Fixed Income and Data Services at ICE. “The ICE Biotechnology Index and ICE Semiconductor Index provide market participants with effective tools to track advancements in areas like biotechnology and genomics, as well as supply and demand imbalances for semiconductors.”
In addition to these futures contracts, the indices serve as the benchmark for investment products. In June 2021, the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) began tracking the ICE Biotechnology Index and the ICE Semiconductor Index, respectively. To learn more about ICE’s indices, please visit: https://www.theice.com/market-data/indices.
