Listing of S&P/TOPIX 150 Futures & Options By Tokyo Stock Exchange

Recent years have seen investors demanding an increasingly diverse range of investment and risk management tools. In response to these needs, to enhance the TSE derivatives market and to provide effective risk hedging and asset management tools, TSE has decided to introduce futures and options based on the S&P/TOPIX 150 index, an index developed in cooperation with Standard & Poors.

Further, the off-hour trading system for TOPIX futures will be modified in order to improve investor convenience. Additionally, trading of sector index futures will also be modified to rationalise systems resources.

Equity options on underlying constituent stocks, which are not already the basis of equity options, are scheduled for listing in May 2000. The following modifications apply to Off-Auction Cross Trading of TOPIX Futures:

Application Hours: Hours will now be: 08:20 ~ 16:00 (12:00 on half-days). (Previously: 08:20~09:00, 11:00~12:00 & 15:10~16:00 (08:20~09:00 & 11:10~12:00 on half-days.)

Price Limits: Within 5% of closing contract price of most recent trading session. (Previously 3%)

Minimum Fluctuation: 0.1 points (Previously 0.5 points)

Modifications to TOPIX Sector Index Futures: 3 contract months will be traded for 9 months. (Previously 5 contract months traded for 15 months.)

S&P/TOPIX 150 futures and options are scheduled for November 2000. Modifications to TOPIX futures and TOPIX sector index futures are scheduled for 5 June 2000.