SGX and STOXX reach consensus on licensing of the EURO STOXX 50 Index

Singapore Exchange and STOXX Ltd. reach consensus on licensing of the Euro Stoxx 50 as underlying  for futures and options on futures contracts….

Subject to regulatory approval, the targeted launch date for the U.S. dollar denominated futures and options on futures contracts will be in the second half of 2010.

The EURO STOXX 50 Index is Europe’s most successful equity index. It is weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization, and each component’s weight is capped at 10% of the index’s total free-float market capitalization. The EURO STOXX 50 Index represents 50 supersector leaders in the 12 Euro zone countries Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. It captures approximately 60% of the free-float market capitalization of the EURO STOXX TMI Index, and is widely used as an underlying index for financial products globally.

Mr. Chew Sutat, executive vice president and head of market development at SGX said, “SGX EURO STOXX 50® Index futures and options on futures will provide our market participants with European exposures to manage their risks during the Asian timezone. The listing of this global contract alongside our suite of Asian products provides customers a one-stop access into Asian and European equity markets, and facilitates cross-product arbitrage on different markets.”
“The EURO STOXX 50 Index is not only the leading pan-European index, but also holds the number three position in terms of trading volumes in the global derivatives market as underlying for futures and options contracts,” said Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer, STOXX Limited. “STOXX’s goal is to expand its European success story globally, and licensing our flagship index to the Singapore Exchange is a step on this way.”

Source: ETFWorld – STOXX Ltd.