These 30 contracts, added to the existing 65, mean that from 31 October 2001 LIFFE will list a total of 95 USFs on global stocks. This range of stock futures has a combined market capitalisation of € 6.4 trillion and covers a significant proportion of Europe's major equity indices.
The new contracts include listings in three new sectors: chemical, food/beverages and utilities, increasing the scope of sector based hedging opportunities for investors.
Karen Dixon, Director of Marketing said, "The new Universal Stock Futures contracts were selected to increase sector and index coverage across the UK and Continental Europe. They are all based on highly capitalised and actively traded underlying stocks.
The full range of 95 Universal Stock Futures contracts which will be available for trading from 31 October 2001, will provide investors with excellent opportunities to use Universal Stock Futures for a range of trading strategies."
Universal Stock Futures offer investors the opportunity to buy and sell futures contracts on blue-chip stocks listed in the UK, Continental Europe and the US, on one electronic trading platform, LIFFE CONNECTTM , cleared and settled through one clearing system and traded under one regulatory regime.
Over 1.38 million Universal Stock Futures contracts have now traded, the equivalent of over 292.8million of the underlying shares. Open interest currently stands at almost 200,000 lots.
