Equity options volume for the month May 2000 reached 4,504,707 contracts traded, a 21% increase over May 1999 when 3,723,959 contracts changed hands. In addition, during the first five months of 2000, PHLX traded a record 23,443,457 equity option contracts, an increase of 22% in comparison to the same period last year when 19,257,535 contracts changed hands.
Volume in the PHLX's eleven sectors index options during the first five months of 2000 reached 1,590,509 contracts, an increase of 16% over the first five months of 1999 when 1,374,746 contracts traded. PHLX currently lists options on eleven sectors: Computer Box Maker Sector, Forest and Paper Sector, Gold/Silver Sector, National Over-the-Counter Sector, Oil Service Sector, OTC Prime Sector, PHLX/KBW Bank Sector, The Street.com Internet Sector, Semiconductor Sector, and Utility Sector, and Wireless Telecom Sector.
Volume in the PHLX's customized and standardized currency options reached 215,529 contracts traded for the first five months of the year for an underlying value of approximately $9.7 billion. The PHLX is the first securities exchange in the U.S. and the nation's fastest growing sectors index options exchange. Founded in 1790, PHLX is a market leader in the trading of over 2600 stocks, 775 equity options, eleven sectors index options, and 100 currency pairs.
