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CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE®) today announced that the first phase of its previously announced plans to expand CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX® index) futures trading hours will begin in late September, with the second phase to begin in the weeks that follow.
Phase I
The first phase of the expanded trading hours initiative is designed to meet demand from U.S. customers for a post-settlement trading period by adding a 45-minute trading session to the current trading hours for VIX futures (7:00 a.m. CT to 3:15 p.m. CT).
- Fifteen minutes after the 3:15 p.m. CT close of VIX futures, the market will reopen for a new trading period from 3:30 p.m. CT to 4:15 p.m. CT. Trading will then resume at 7:00 a.m. CT the following morning.
- The new 45-minute period, which marks the beginning of the next trading day, will be available from Monday through Thursday.
Phase II
The second phase of the expanded trading hours initiative will allow European-based customers to trade VIX futures during their local trading hours by beginning the current trading session five hours earlier than its current opening time of 7:00 a.m. CT.
- Trading will begin at 2:00 a.m. CT (8:00 a.m. London time).
- The new five-hour period, which precedes the current trading hours, will be available from Monday through Friday.
With both expanded trading periods in place, VIX futures trading hours will run from 2:00 a.m. CT through 3:15 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday, with the 3:30 p.m. CT to 4:15 p.m. CT session available Monday through Thursday. No trading is scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays in either of the phases.
The changes are subject to regulatory review.
On February 1, CFE opened a communications hub outside of London to further expand VIX futures trading from Europe. The Hub, which connects the Equinix facility in Slough, England to the CBOE Command Center at the Equinix facility in New Jersey, provides European firms with an economical choice to connect to the CFE trading system.
