Exchanges hit record volume in selloff |
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Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:40
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CHICAGO (AP) - Volatility on Wall Street was good for business at the three largest U.S. futures and options exchanges, which said Wednesday they had their busiest trading days ever during the previous day's selloff.The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world's largest financial exchange, along with the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Board Options Exchange all announced record numbers of contracts traded Tuesday.The two publicly traded exchanges also saw their stocks bounce back Wednesday after taking a beating a day earlier.Shares in Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. jumped $28.16, or 5.5 percent, to close at $539.15 on the New York Stock Exchange, more than making up Tuesday's 4.8 percent decline. The Board of Trade's parent, CBOT Holdings Inc., rose $7.35 or 4.8 percent to $161.60, more than offsetting the previous day's 3.9 percent drop.The Chicago Merc said volume records reached Tuesday included total daily volume of 13.7 million futures and options traded, far surpassing the previous high of 11 million from Dec. 1. Eighty percent of the trading was done electronically, reflecting the increasing move away from open-outcry trading.One of the most heavily traded products was E-mini S&P 500 Index futures, with a record 3.6 million contracts bought and sold.At the crosstown Board of Trade, which the Merc is in the process of acquiring, total exchange volume of 11.2 million contracts traded exceeded the Nov. 28 record of 7.8 million by 44 percent. Seventy-nine percent were traded electronically. The vast majority of contracts traded were for U.S. Treasury futures and options.The Chicago Board Options Exchange, the largest U.S. options marketplace, reported 6.8 million contracts traded, up from the previous record of 5.8 million last May 19. Trading in the Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock options set a record, and volume in options on the CBOE Volatility Index also was heavy, with more than 120,000 contracts trading.The VIX, as the volatility index is known, is designed to reflect investors' consensus view of expected near-term stock market volatility and has been referred to as the market's 'fear gauge.'Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Exchanges hit record volume in sell-off 