Traders who want to execute more precise and timely options trades are getting a new investment and hedging vehicle.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced that it plans to list S&P 500 Index (SPX) Wednesday-expiring Weeklys options beginning February 23, 2016.
The exchange said that by listing this new mid-week expiration contracts that traders will be able to more precisely trade and hedging in concert with their investment horizons.
CBOE’s new SPX Wednesday-expiring Weeklys options, or “Wednesday Weeklys,” will generally have the same characteristics as CBOE’s Friday-expiring SPX Weeklys options, with the exception of their listing and expiration dates. Wednesday Weeklys will typically be listed on Tuesdays and expire on the Wednesday of the following week.
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, an increase of 6 percent over 2014.
SPX Weeklys, which accounted for approximately 35 percent of total SPX trading volume in 2015, are one of CBOE’s fastest-growing products. ADV in 2015 set a 10th consecutive record, reaching a new all-time high of 337,683 contracts, up 24 percent over 2014.
“We are pleased to further expand our SPX product complex with the introduction of SPX Weeklys with Wednesday expirations,” said CBOE Holdings CEO Edward Tilly. “Wednesday Weeklys, in addition to end-of-the-week expirations, will increase opportunities to trade SPX and enable investors to better target specific expirations. Wednesday Weeklys will align with VIX Weeklys futures and options, which also expire on Wednesdays, to provide greater trading flexibility for the increasing number of customers who use both our SPX and VIX product suites.”
CBOE pioneered the 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.
