E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Futures Set Open Interest Records

Open interest in E-mini Nasdaq 100 Index® futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reached 6,862 at the close of trading on Friday, the fifth consecutive day of open interest records as Nasdaq index levels soared to new highs. The open interest records in the new, electronically traded version of the Nasdaq 100 Index began on Friday, Nov. 19, when open interest rose to 5,661. On the following days, open interest rose to 5,803 on Monday, Nov. 22; 5,812 on Tuesday, Nov. 23; and 6,790 on Wednesday, Nov. 24. "E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures are one of the most successful new products the CME launched in 1999," CME Chairman Scott Gordon said. "The growth in open interest in this retail-sized, electronically traded index product indicates not only the popularity of the tech stocks in the index but also the convenience of trading electronically on the CME." E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures contracts trade on the CME's GLOBEX®2 system virtually 24 hours per day, from 3:45 p.m. until 3:15 p.m. the following day. The product, launched June 21, builds on the success of the Merc's popular E-mini S&P 500 futures, now the exchange's third most heavily traded futures contract. At one-fifth the size of the CME's standard Nasdaq 100 contracts, the smaller contracts are "fungible" with the larger ones in that positions in the smaller contract may be offset by trading against an equivalent dollar-value of standard-size Nasdaq 100 futures and vice versa. Open interest measures the number of contracts outstanding at the close of trading.