2007 IS BUSIEST YEAR IN CBOE HISTORY – 4th YEAR IN A ROW RECORD VOLUME
Volume Up 40% Over 2006, New Records Set Equity And Index Options Trading
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced that 2007 was the busiest year in CBOE history, as a total of 944,471,924 contracts traded, and the fourth consecutive year that CBOE experienced record trading volume. The 944.5 million contracts traded surpassed the 674,735,348 contracts traded in 2006, the previous record, by 40%. Average daily volume of 3,762,836 contracts during 2007 established a new all-time high, besting 2006's 2,688,189 contracts per day.
Total volume in equity options during 2007 tallied a new record of 500,964,713 contracts traded, an increase of 28% over the 390,657,577 contracts traded in 2006, which had been the previous record.2007 average daily volume in equity options trading was 1,995,875 contracts, compared to the 1,556,405 contracts traded per day in 2006. In index and ETF options total volume, a new record of 443,497,084 contracts traded during 2007, 56% over the 284,056,441 contracts traded in 2006, the former high mark.2007 average daily volume in index and ETF options was 1,766,921 contracts, versus the average daily volume of 1,131,699 contracts in 2006.
Numerous Yearly Trading Records Set In Index and ETF Products, CBOE Volatility Index Experiences Biggest Yearly Percentage Move In History.
Several individual index and ETF options set new volume records at CBOE during 2007, including
Eighteen of the twenty busiest single trading days in CBOE's 34-year history occurred during 2007, including the all-time busiest single day - 9,244,732 contracts traded on August 16, 2007.
During 2007, trading in several index and ETF products logged significant volume gains over the previous year, including options on: the Russell 2000 Index (RUT), +277%; Standard & Poor's Despositary Receipts (SPY), +104%; iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM), +503%; Financial Select SPDR (XLF), +723%; and iShares FTSE/Xinhua China Index Fund (FXI), +2975%.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) experienced its biggest percentage move ever in a calendar year during 2007, rising 94.6% during the year, from 11.56 at the close of trading on December 31, 2006 to 22.50 at the close of trading on December 31, 2007.Previously, the largest percentage move from the beginning of a year to the end of a year was the 67.1% increase during 1996. By comparison, in 2006, VIX declined 4.2% from the beginning of the year to the end, and in 2005, VIX fell 9.2% from the beginning of the year to the end. The CBOE Volatility Index is derived from real-time S&P 500 Index (SPX) options prices and is designed to reflect investors' consensus view of expected near-term stock market volatility over the next 30 days and is often referred to as the "market's fear gauge."
Trading in VIX options continued its phenomenal growth in 2007 as a total of 23,388,366 contracts traded during the year, an increase of 363% over the 5,050,638 contracts traded during 2006. Average daily volume jumped from 23,491 contracts in 2006 to 93,181 contracts in 2007. Options on VIX, launched in February 2006, already rank as CBOE's second most-actively traded index option and have been the most successful new product launch in CBOE history.
