CHICAGO, July 1 (Reuters) - The Chicago Board Options Exchange said on Wednesday that last month's volume averaged 4.2 million contracts per day, a decline of 14 percent from June 2008 and down 15 percent from May 2009.
Overall volume in June fell 10 percent to 92.5 million contracts from 103.3 million traded during the busiest month of June ever at the options mart in 2008, said CBOE, the largest U.S. options exchange.
CBOE's average daily volume year-to-date through June was 4.6 million contracts, up 3 percent from 4.5 million contracts for the same six-month period in 2008.
During the first six months of 2009, nearly 570.0 million contracts changed hands at CBOE -- up 2 percent from the same six-month period a year ago when 558.0 million contracts were traded.
Equity options trading volume last month at CBOE stood at 52.1 million contracts, down 4 percent from 54.4 million contracts traded in June 2008.
Cash index options volume totaled 18 million contracts last month, a 12 percent decrease from June 2008 when 20.5 million contracts were traded, CBOE said.
CBOE said its exchange-traded fund options volume last month was 22.4 million contracts, down 21 percent from a year ago when 28.4 million contracts traded.
Trading volume at the CBOE Stock Exchange last month rose 55 percent to 403.9 million shares from 260.9 million shares in June 2008.
Trading volume at CBOE Futures Exchange in June fell 33 percent to 66,254 contracts from 99,501 contracts traded during the same period last year.
CBOE's market share of total industry volume year-to-date stood at 31.4 percent, down 0.7 of a percentage point from the same period in 2008. CBOE market share last month was 29.3 percent, down 4.7 percentage points from June 2008 and down 2.2 percentage points from the previous month.
CBOE posted a 90.9-percent market share in cash-settled index options, up 4 percentage points from June 2008 and up 0.7 of percentage point from May 2009.
Its market share for equity options during June was 26.6 percent, down 2.7 percentage points from June 2008 and down 0.9 of a percentage point from the previous month.
CBOE ETF options market share was 22.4 percent in June was 22.4 percent, down 7.5 percentage points from June 2008 and down 6.2 percentage points from May 2009.
A single, massive dividend spread in the SPDR S&P 500 fund during the week of June 15 probably skewed market share figures. Excluding these dividend trades, CBOE's month-to-date ETF market share would likely have been much higher, a CBOE spokeswoman said.
The drop in volume could be attributed to a decline in volatility measured by the CBOE Volatility Index and some signs of market stability compared to last year's record turnover and heightened volatility, according to one trader.
'This is definitely a cyclical pattern that we are going through and I would expect option volume to increase as we move through this cycle,' said Dan Deming, a trader at Stutland Equities, an option market maker firm in Chicago.
Last year, volatility started to trend higher and options volume went through record levels as market participants used options to protect stock portfolios, he said.
'The elevated volatility indicated market uncertainty and wider daily swings in the Standard & Poor's 500 index which stemmed from the financial crisis,' Deming said. 'As we move through this year, market volatility has declined and we are seeing signs of a more normal trading environment.'
((Reporting by Doris Frankel; editing by Gary Crosse)) Keywords: CBOE OPTIONS/VOLUME (doris.frankel@thomsonreuters.com; +1-312-408-8752; Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Overall volume in June fell 10 percent to 92.5 million contracts from 103.3 million traded during the busiest month of June ever at the options mart in 2008, said CBOE, the largest U.S. options exchange.
CBOE's average daily volume year-to-date through June was 4.6 million contracts, up 3 percent from 4.5 million contracts for the same six-month period in 2008.
During the first six months of 2009, nearly 570.0 million contracts changed hands at CBOE -- up 2 percent from the same six-month period a year ago when 558.0 million contracts were traded.
Equity options trading volume last month at CBOE stood at 52.1 million contracts, down 4 percent from 54.4 million contracts traded in June 2008.
Cash index options volume totaled 18 million contracts last month, a 12 percent decrease from June 2008 when 20.5 million contracts were traded, CBOE said.
CBOE said its exchange-traded fund options volume last month was 22.4 million contracts, down 21 percent from a year ago when 28.4 million contracts traded.
Trading volume at the CBOE Stock Exchange last month rose 55 percent to 403.9 million shares from 260.9 million shares in June 2008.
Trading volume at CBOE Futures Exchange in June fell 33 percent to 66,254 contracts from 99,501 contracts traded during the same period last year.
CBOE's market share of total industry volume year-to-date stood at 31.4 percent, down 0.7 of a percentage point from the same period in 2008. CBOE market share last month was 29.3 percent, down 4.7 percentage points from June 2008 and down 2.2 percentage points from the previous month.
CBOE posted a 90.9-percent market share in cash-settled index options, up 4 percentage points from June 2008 and up 0.7 of percentage point from May 2009.
Its market share for equity options during June was 26.6 percent, down 2.7 percentage points from June 2008 and down 0.9 of a percentage point from the previous month.
CBOE ETF options market share was 22.4 percent in June was 22.4 percent, down 7.5 percentage points from June 2008 and down 6.2 percentage points from May 2009.
A single, massive dividend spread in the SPDR S&P 500 fund during the week of June 15 probably skewed market share figures. Excluding these dividend trades, CBOE's month-to-date ETF market share would likely have been much higher, a CBOE spokeswoman said.
The drop in volume could be attributed to a decline in volatility measured by the CBOE Volatility Index and some signs of market stability compared to last year's record turnover and heightened volatility, according to one trader.
'This is definitely a cyclical pattern that we are going through and I would expect option volume to increase as we move through this cycle,' said Dan Deming, a trader at Stutland Equities, an option market maker firm in Chicago.
Last year, volatility started to trend higher and options volume went through record levels as market participants used options to protect stock portfolios, he said.
'The elevated volatility indicated market uncertainty and wider daily swings in the Standard & Poor's 500 index which stemmed from the financial crisis,' Deming said. 'As we move through this year, market volatility has declined and we are seeing signs of a more normal trading environment.'
((Reporting by Doris Frankel; editing by Gary Crosse)) Keywords: CBOE OPTIONS/VOLUME (doris.frankel@thomsonreuters.com; +1-312-408-8752; Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.