CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of NASDAQ-100 weekly options beginning October 18, 2010. These contracts will be listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of the CME.
"Our customers continue to look for more precise ways to manage their financial risk tied to market movements that occur throughout the month," said Thomas Boggs, CME Group Director of Equity Index Products and Services. "The NASDAQ-100 weekly options will expand the number of expirations and provide our customers with more trading opportunities and increased flexibility for more efficient position management."
Standard and E-mini weekly options will be listed for trading and both will be European-style. Benefits include expanded trading choices, certainty of exercise, and the precision and flexibility of additional listings.
A weekly expiration will be available for every Friday of the contract month except for the third Friday, the expiration day of existing American-style quarterly and serial options. In months that have five Fridays (October 2010, for example), a Week 5 weekly expiration will be listed for trading.
As with weekly options on S&P 500 futures, at expiration CME will calculate a special fixing price based on the weighted-average trading price of E-mini NASDAQ-100 futures in the last 30 seconds (2:59:30 – 3:00:00) prior to the 3:00 p.m. (Chicago time) option expiration. This price will be disseminated immediately using the symbol NQF, and will be used to determine which weekly options are in the money.
Additional information about the NASDAQ-100 weekly options can be found here: www.cmegroup.com/weeklies.