October Options Figures

375 million contracts changed hands in October according to the Options Industry Council (OIC), representing a 28.75 percent increase over October 2007 and 1.4 million contracts more than the previous monthly volume record set in September. Average daily volume for the month was 16,344,995 contracts, also up 28.75 from the same period last year.

On October 20, year-to-date volume reached three billion contracts for the first time in history. It took 203 trading days to reach this milestone. Total options volume reached two billion contracts for the third time ever on July 22, taking only 140 trading days to reach that mark. The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) reported October year-to-date volume stood at 3,116,322,848 contracts, an increase of 34.63 percent compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date daily volume is averaging 14,699,636 contracts, compared to 11,022,807 contracts at the same point in 2007.

Equity options saw 336,805,246 contracts traded, 25.54 percent higher than October 2007. Year-to-date equity options volume is 2,857,938,960 contracts, up 36.70 percent over the same point last year. Daily equity options volume averaged 14,643,706 contracts per day in October, an increase of 25.54 percent over the same month last year.

New Trading Terms

ASG Software Solutions
rovider of integrated solutions for enterprise archiving and records management
Bank of New York Mellon
global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. The company is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has more than $23 trillion in assets under custody and administration, more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management and services $12 trillion in outstanding debt.
BCG
Boston Consulting Group
BNY ConverEx Group
provides global institutional agency brokerage and investment technology solutions to institutional clients worldwide.
Boston Consulting Grou
Global management consulting firm and advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization.
CapitalSource
Commercial lender offering focused lending products serving clients in the middle market
Highline Financial
Provider of web-based banking data and software
OIC
Optionss Industry Council
Options Industry Council
An industry cooperative funded by the American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ Options Market, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, NYSE Arca, and The Options Clearing Corporation.
Radar Logic
A real estate data and analytics company, calculates and publishes the Radar Logic Daily™ Prices. The prices track housing values for major U.S. metropolitan areas and are the basis of the Residential Property Index™ (RPX™), a market that enables real estate to be traded as a liquid asset, via property derivatives marketed by major financial institutions.
Satyam Computer Services
Consulting and information technology services .

OIC Volume Down 1.9 Percent for Month

The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that total options trading volume in August was 263,405,886 contracts, a 10.5 percent decline from the record-setting volume of 294,211,443 contracts last August. Average daily volume for the month, however, was down 1.9 percent, from 12,791,802 last August to 12,543,137 this year.

This marks the first decline in monthly volume from the year-ago period since July 2003.

"Options trading in August 2007 set a monthly volume record -- spurred by market volatility brought on by the credit crisis -- that remains the fifth highest monthly total today," said Gina McFadden, President of The Options Industry Council. "An unprecedented 61-month string of increasing trading volume has come to an end, but it is clear that many more investors learned the value of using options during that time."

Year-to-date options volume stands at 2.37 billion contracts, up 30 percent over the same period in 2007.
Equity options volume saw 241,579,377 contracts change hands, a decrease of 7.6 percent from August 2007. Equity options average daily volume was up 1.2 percent over August 2007 as there were two fewer trading days compared to last August. Equity options volume for the year so far is up 33 percent from the year ago level.

Options Industry Council

OIC is an industry cooperative funded by the American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ Options Market, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, NYSE Arca, and The Options Clearing Corporation. OIC's resources include: The Options Industry Services Help Desk at 1-888-OPTIONS, educational Web sites at www.optionseducation.org and www.OICoptions.com, evening seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada, instructional DVDs and educational literature and software.