CME Group to launch micro equity index options on June 29
CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) announced it will launch financially-settled Micro E-mini S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 options on June 29, pending regulatory review.
The new contracts will be one-tenth the size of existing E-mini options with short-dated Monday through Friday expiries. The products will be financially settled, removing operational processes associated with underlying futures delivery at expiration.
"The expansion of our deeply liquid equity index options suite directly answers client demand for more versatile, accessible risk management and market access tools," said Joe Hickey, Global Head of Equity Products at CME Group. "By combining a smaller contract size with the operational simplicity of financial settlement, we are providing traders with the capital-efficient and flexible toolset they need to manage benchmark U.S. equity index exposure with absolute precision."
The new options build on CME Group's existing Micro E-mini Equity Index suite, which has recorded more than 2.6 billion cumulative contracts traded since inception. The suite includes over 1 billion contracts each for S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 Micro E-mini products.
The products will be listed on CME and subject to CME rules, according to the company's statement.
