US exchange operator NYSE Euronext has joined competing US venues in offering mini options contracts for the most popular underlying stocks on its NYSE Arca and NYSE Amex exchanges.
Exchange members have been be able to trade mini options in Amazon, Apple, Google, SPDR Gold Trust and the S&P 500 Index exchange traded fund – the same list of minis offered by rival exchange BATS Options and IntercontinentalExchange – since Monday.
Mini options represent a deliverable of ten shares of their underlying security, compared to 100 shares for standard options contracts.
“Minis will enable investors, large and small, to execute options trading strategies without making high capital investments,” Steve Crutchfield, head of NYSE Euronext US options exchanges commented. “We are proud of the momentum and of our continued efforts to provide our customers with alternatives that meet their individual trading needs while offering greater choice, access and flexibility.”
NYSE Arca Options provides price-time priority with liquidity rebates, while sister venue NYSE Amex Options operates a customer priority model.
NYSE Euronext also plans to broaden the index futures products it offers on NYSE Liffe by extending an agreement with index provider MSCI. The deal will allow NYSE Liffe to offer a greater range of MSCI equity indices through to November 2021, after continued growth in usage of MSCI products on the exchange. Year-to-date trading figures for mini MSCI futures on NYSE Liffe US through to March show a 101% increase, to around 28,000 contracts daily.
NYSE Euronext is currently the subject of a takeover from IntercontinentalExchange after accepting a bid last December that values the exchange operator at US$8.2 billion.