International derivatives exchange Eurex, has launched single stock futures on major Canadian companies. The exchange, which is jointly owned by SIX Swiss Exchange and Deutsche Börse, says its new listings reflect customer demand for expanded offerings in its equity derivatives segment.
The futures contracts will be based on shares of Bank of Montreal, BCE, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Sun Life Financial. The specification of the new contracts will follow the US listings of these firms.
Each contract represents 100 shares denominated in US$ and is cash settled. They will have expiry dates up to three years for the next 13 calendar months, plus the two following annual contract months out of the December cycle.
Eurex first introduced single stock futures on companies included in the DAX, EURO STOXX 50 and SMI indices in October 2005. Since then the product suite has expanded to include stocks in additional European countries including Russia plus the US and Brazil. Volumes have risen in recent years, with US single stock futures growing nearly fourfold to more than 498,000 contracts as of end of October 2010 compared to the same period of 2009.
“Single stock futures have quickly become one of our fastest growing product segments,” said Michael Peters, member of the Eurex executive board. “The contracts give customers greater flexibility in executing trading strategies in more than 750 names in Europe and internationally. The new Canadian listings will provide members with further trading opportunities in the North American market.”