The trading volumes in Q3/2016 show very robust demand for Eurex Equity Index Derivatives. Futures and options on European broadbased indexes continue to be very popular, as are derivatives stocks from the European financial sector. Driven by client interest, Eurex expanded the MSCI product offering and introduced SMI® Weekly Options.

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Key Figures

Equity Index Derivatives

The European broadbased indexes continue to attract global investor interest. The MSCI Europe Index Futures (FMEU) have shown the strongest increase in trading volume, a 237% rise over the same period last year. The STOXX® Europe 600 Index Futures was also actively traded, showing a 39% increase in volume. This benchmark is popular with investors who increasingly prefer Pan-European exposure over single country allocation. Bank headlines created strong interest in derivatives on financials. The volume in EURO STOXX® Banks Futures and STOXX® Europe 600 Banks Futures rose by 69% and 53% respectively.

Low volatility subdued volumes in Equity Index Options. Overall, the volume was lower than in the corresponding period in 2015 but the open interest levels remained stable. Breaking this trend were options on stocks from the European financial sector, such as EURO STOXX® Banks Options and STOXX® Europe 600 Bank Options which increased their volumes by 245% and 36%.

Key Figures

Key Figures

Key Figures

MSCI Derivatives

The MSCI segment continues its rapid ascent. Since the beginning of 2016, the turnover in Eurex’ MSCI segment amounted to more than 3.85 million contracts, compared to 1.6 million contracts in the whole of 2015. This growth can be attributed to ongoing investor interest in passive strategies, and the increased need for cost-effective and efficient hedging tools in the form of futures and options. In addition, we see a growing appetite for an alternative to margined swaps. During September roll, Eurex’ MSCI segment reached 1 million contracts of open interest for the first time.

Eurex listed additional 14 MSCI Futures in September, bringing the total offer to an unrivalled number of 72 futures and 15 options. Most underlying indexes of the new products are gross total return indexes and have been requested by end users seeking to hedge true total returns.

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VSTOXX® Derivatives

The European benchmark for volatility keeps on growing. September 2016 was a great month for the volatility product suite, particularly for the VSTOXX® Futures, with an average daily volume at 41,000 and a monthly volume of 900,000 contracts. The surge in interest for volatility trading combined with a number of Euro specific events has led to an overall 26% increase in volume in the VSTOXX® in 2016 as market participants use the index to diversify their portfolio, hedge their exposure or capitalize on broad market volatility.

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SMI® Weekly Options

Eurex introduced options on the Swiss benchmark index SMI® with weekly expirations on Monday, 26 September 2016. SMI® Weekly Options allow investors to gain exposure or to hedge more precisely on specific Swiss economic and market driven events. With the introduction of the new products Eurex expands the existing offering of Weekly Options on the benchmark equity indexes DAX® and EURO STOXX 50® Index. For background and trading strategies please see the interview with Philipp Schultze.

Mini-DAX® Futures

Mini-DAX® Futures continue to grow in strength. Investor interest pushed the trading volume to an all time high in September when 756,170 contracts traded. This is 38.8% more volume than the last record high in February (544,918). On Friday, 30 September 2016 over 55,000 contracts were traded.

Key Figures

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