The OIC Announces April Volume Increases 43 Percent
The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced that 281,722,376 total options contracts changed hands in April, continuing the high-growth trend experienced over the last several years and representing a 43.09 percent increase over April 2007 volume. Average daily volume for the month was 12,805,562 contracts.
On April 14 the one billion contract mark was surpassed for the fifth consecutive year, taking only 71 days to reach this milestone compared to 99 days in 2007. The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) reported April year-to-date volume stood at 1,165,305,530 contracts, an increase of 44.52 percent compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date daily volume is averaging 14,039,826 contracts, a 41.04 percent increase over the same period in 2007.
Equity options saw 260,371,744 contracts change hands, 46.28 percent higher than April 2007. Year-to-date equity options volume is 1,073,393,992 contracts, up 47.24 percent over the same point last year. Daily equity options volume averaged 11,835,079 contracts per day in April, an increase of 32.99 percent over the same month last year.
The NASDAQ Options Market Joins The Options Industry
The NASDAQ Options Market has become a member of The Options Industry Council (OIC). NASDAQ Options Market joins the member firms and other exchanges of OIC (American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NYSE Arca, Philadelphia Stock Exchange and The Options Clearing Corporation) in helping to promote the use of equity options.
With volume soaring over the last several years, it is evident that investors desire a greater knowledge of equity options.
"The NASDAQ Options Market launched in March 2008 as the only market model that provides true price time priority for investors and is rapidly gaining traction," said Adam Nunes, Head of The NASDAQ Options Market. "We are delighted to collaborate with the OIC on their many initiatives focused on enhancing the awareness of key issues and developments within the options industry."
NASDAQ OMX operates a fully automated, price/time priority market with an opportunity for price improvement that provides a level playing field to all participants. It provides a routing service to orders when trading is not present on The NASDAQ Options Market. NASDAQ OMX's offering is the first options trading platform to offer true price/time priority.
