The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced that it plans to list S&P 500 Index (SPX) Monday-expiring Weeklys options, beginning August 15, 2016, pending regulatory approval. With the expected introduction of SPX “Monday Weeklys,” CBOE will now offer SPX options with Monday, Wednesday and Friday weekly expirations.
CBOE’s new SPX Monday Weeklys options will generally have the same characteristics as CBOE’s Wednesday- and Friday-expiring SPX Weeklys options, with the exception of their listing and expiration dates. The initial expirations for the new Monday Weeklys are planned for August 22, 2016 and August 29, 2016.
Going forward, new expirations for the Monday Weeklys will typically be listed on Fridays and CBOE expects that Monday Weeklys with at least two expirations will be available at all times.
SPX options continue to be the most actively traded U.S. index option and, in 2015, set a new annual volume record of 236.5 million contracts, with average daily volume (ADV) of 938,620 contracts. Through the first half of 2016, total volume in SPX options was approximately 125 million contracts, 18 percent ahead of the same period last year, with an ADV of nearly one million contracts.
SPX Weeklys are one of CBOE’s fastest-growing products, with ADV in 2015 setting a 10th consecutive annual record. Through the first half of 2016, total volume in SPX Weeklys options was approximately 42 million contracts, with an ADV of more than 335,000 contracts, accounting for approximately 35 percent of total SPX trading volume.
“We are pleased to further expand our SPX product complex and build off the successful February launch of SPX Wednesday Weeklys with the introduction of SPX Weeklys with Monday expirations,” said CBOE Holdings CEO Edward T. Tilly. “Weeklys provide greater trading precision and with new Monday Weeklys, investors will be able to efficiently hedge over-the-weekend risks. With three different expirations in our SPX Weeklys product line, investors will have even more opportunities and flexibility when trading the S&P 500.”
CBOE pioneered short-term options trading in 2005 by introducing the first weekly expiring options contract. Except for more frequent expiration dates, Weeklys generally have the same contract specifications as monthly expiring contracts.
Contracts with weekly expirations allow investors to implement more targeted buying, selling, spreading or hedging strategies. In addition, futures and options with weekly expirations can help investors take advantage of breaking news or known economic events, such as earnings, monthly U.S. economic reports and Federal Reserve announcements.
Additional information on Weeklys options and futures can be found here.