The Options Industry Council Announces February Trading Increases 5% Over The Same Period Last Year
The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced that total options trading volume in February was 256,464,343 contracts, a 4.93 percent increase over the 244,419,633 contracts traded for the same period last year.
Average daily trading volume in February was 13,498,123 contracts compared to 12,220,981 contracts for the same year-ago period, which is a 10.45 percent increase. In an unusual occurrence, average daily volume in February was higher than it was in January—13.5 million contracts compared to 12.9 million—something that has not happened in at least eight years.
Average daily trading volume for 2009 is 13,186,611 contracts, compared to 14,672,755 contracts for the same period last year and representing a 10.13 percent decline. Year-to-date options volume stands at 514,277,856 contracts, down 14.51 percent compared with the 601,582,921 contracts traded for the same period in 2008.
Equity options volume came in at 238,866,795 contracts, up 6.25 percent from the 224,808,922 contracts changing hands in the same year-ago period. February equity options averaged 12,571,937 contracts per day compared to the 11,240,446 contracts that were averaged per day during the same period last year.
OIC Introduces Updated Taxes And Investing Pamphlet For Investors
The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced that the Taxes and Investing pamphlet for investors has been updated for 2009 and reflects the present Federal Income Tax laws regarding options investment.
Just in time for tax season, the Taxes and Investing pamphlet summarizes the basic rules governing the federal income taxation of certain investments by individuals who are citizens or residents of the United States and who dispose of an investment in a taxable transaction. This booklet is revised annually by OIC to incorporate new federal income tax legislation.
This new edition of Tax and Investing includes the developments up until December 2008. New sections highlighted in the 2009 version include: the Physical Settlement Rule, Qualified Covered Call, Exchange-Traded Notes and Similar Hybrid Instruments, and Futures Contracts on Individual Stocks.
