Starting from Monday, May 25, 2015, OSE will introduce new options contracts based upon the Nikkei Stock Average (Nikkei 225). In addition to the current contracts which expire on the second Friday (the current contract months which are hereinafter referred to as "regular options"), OSE will set new contracts that expire on Fridays on which there are no expiring regular options (hereinafter referred to as "weekly options").
OSE has outlined important matters below concerning rules and market operations with regard to weekly options.
Contracts to be set on the Launch Date
The contracts to be set and their respective last trading dates are as below.
Prior to shifting to the next contract month, OSE will notify the changes in advance.
| Contract | Last Trading Day |
| 5th Week May 2015（*） | May 28, 2015 (Thu.) |
| 1st Week June 2015（*） | June 4, 2015 (Thu.) |
| 3rd Week June 2015（*） | June 18, 2015 (Thu.) |
| 4th Week June 2015 | June 25, 2015 (Thu.) |
- While weekly options contracts set on the launch date will available for trading from 1 to 4 weeks, normally they will be available for trading from 5 to 6 weeks.
- The new contract for 1st Week July 2015 (last trading day: Thursday, July 2, 2015) will begin trading from the day session on Friday, May 29, 2015, which is the day after the last trading day of the 5th Week May 2015 contract.
Strategy Trading
Strategy trading will be available as same as regular options.
However, please note that weekly options and regular options cannot be assigned as leg instruments to the same strategy.
Price Limits and Reference Prices
Price Limits for placing Bids and Offers
The price limits applied from the launch date to the day session of Friday, May 29, 2015 are as below.
Price limits will be reviewed quarterly, in principle and shall be revised on the first trading days of March, June, September, and December. OSE will notify the contents of the revision in advance.
| Normal | 1st expansion | 2nd expansion |
| JPY 1,940 | JPY 2,480 | JPY 3,010 |
Reference Prices for Price Limits of Bids and Offers
The reference prices will be notified separately on the business day before the launch date (Friday, May 22, 2015).
The reference prices for business days after the launch date (i.e., Tuesday, May 26, 2015 onward) will be the settlement prices of the previous trading day.
Immediately Executable Price Range and Executable Price Range in Closing Auctions
The immediately executable price range and the executable price range in the closing auctions shall be 10 ticks above and below the last price.
Circuit Breaker Rules
As is for regular options, in the case that trading is temporarily halted in the Nikkei 225 futures contract, trading in weekly options will also be temporarily halted, and the price limits of bids and offers expanded.
Price Limits for J-NET Trading
V±Z×8% (same as regular options)
V: Last theoretical price
Z: The closing price of the previous trading day’s Nikkei 225 index
Order Size Limits
As is for regular options, order size limits for weekly options are as follows.
| Auction | Strategy | J-NET |
| 5,000 units | 5,000 units | 10,000 units |
Setting of New/Additional Strike Prices
Publication of New/Additional Settings
In conjunction with the publication of setting of new/additional strike prices for regular options, OSE will publish the setting of new/additional strike prices for weekly options on our website and Target around 4 P.M. of the preceding day they are set.
Additional Setting in Last Trading Week
OSE will set additional strike prices during the week of the last trading day.
Please note that the same will apply to regular options starting from Monday, May 25, 2015(*).
- For TOPIX options, as at present, OSE will not set additional strike prices during the week of the last trading day after Monday May 25, 2015.
Notice of Arrival of Last Trading Day
Notice of Arrival of Last Trading Day and Commencement of a New Contract Month
OSE will notify of the arrival of the last trading day and the commencement of a new contract month on the Wednesday of the week preceding that of the second Friday (if the Wednesday is a non-business day, it shall be the preceding business day), in conjunction with the same notice for regular options.
Notices on Expiring Individual Contracts
OSE will not issue notices in advance on individual contracts that are expiring.
Please note that, from Monday, May 25, 2015 onward, OSE will cease to notify for regular options and TOPIX options（*）, which are currently published on the first day of the week of the last trading day（*）.
- This is because OSE will set additional strike prices during the week of last trading day.
- For individual contracts, please refer to “Reference Data for Futures and Options” on our website.
Special Quotation (SQ) for Options
The SQ determined on the business day following the last trading day will be broadcast via J-GATE around 3:15 P.M. In addition, it will be published on our website and Target around 3:15 P.M.
Disclosure of Trading Information
For weekly options, trading volume and open interest per trading participant will not be disclosed. In addition, for weekly options, trading volume and trading value by sale and purchase by investor type will not be subject to reporting or disclosure（*）.
- For regular options, the disclosure will remain unchanged.
Securities Identification Codes for Futures and Options Trading
Regarding the securities identification code for futures and options trading (9-digit code （*）), "40" will be assigned as the contract month code for the weekly contract whose last trading day is the day preceding the first Friday of each year (in the 1st week of January), and the number will increase by 1 for each subsequent weekly option (excluding regular options).
Please note that due to the timing of the launch of the new weekly options, the contract month code of the first new weekly option will be set as "56" as follows.
| Contract | Contract Month Code |
| 5th Week May 2015 | 56 |
| 1st Week June 2015 | 57 |
| 3rd Week June 2015 | 58 |
| 4th Week June 2015 | 59 |
- The "9-digit code" is determined in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Securities Identification Code Committee. (There is no 9-digit code for strategy trades.)
