The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced that this was the busiest trading week in its history, and Tuesday was the busiest single day on record.
At the CBOE, total volume for the five days of trading from Monday, February 26 through Friday, March 2nd was 23.34 million contracts, surpassing the previous record set during the week of May 15-19, 2006, when 22.2 million contracts changed hands.
CBOE also set a new single-day record for total volume on Tuesday, when 6.7 million contracts traded, beating the previous record of 5.8 million contracts, set on Friday, May 19, 2006.
A new record was set for weekly volume in options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which were launched one year ago, with volume for the week totaling 457,570 contracts. The VIX closed today at 18.61, with a low for the week of 10.52 (on Monday) and an intra-day high of 19.01 (on Tuesday).
The CBOE Volatility Index has been hailed as a revolutionary instrument ever since its introduction in 1993. For more than a decade, VIX has been the preeminent barometer of market volatility and investor sentiment. Derived from real-time S&P 500 Index option prices, VIX is designed to reflect investors' consensus view of expected near-term stock market volatility over the next 30 days. VIX is closely followed and highly publicized and is referred to as the market's "fear gauge." More information on the CBOE Volatility Index may be found at: http://www.cboe.com/VIX.
Trading in S&P 500 Index (SPX) options was also heavy this week, with more than 3.97 million contracts trading, compared to the record weekly volume of 4.03 million contracts set during the week of May 15-19, 2006.
A new single-day volume record was also set on Tuesday of this week, in Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQQ) options, when 1.04 million contracts traded, shattering the previous record of 486,515 contracts traded on April 6, 2004.
CBOE, the largest options marketplace in the U.S. and the creator of listed options, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For additional information about the CBOE and its products, visit the CBOE website at: http://www.cboe.com/.
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CBOE Experiences Busiest Trading Week In Its History - Volume Was More Than 23.3 Million Contracts - Tuesday Was Busiest Single Day Ever With 6.7 Million Contracts - VIX Options Also Set Weekly Record
Date 02/03/2007
