The international derivatives exchange Eurex is expanding its European equity option offering with the introduction on September 10 of options on 11 Austrian equities: Boehler-Uddeholm, Betand

The international derivatives exchange Eurex is expanding its European equity option offering with the introduction on September 10 of options on 11 Austrian equities: Boehler-Uddeholm, Betandwin, Erste Bank, Immoeast, ÖMV, Raiffeisenbank, RHI, Telekom Austria, Verbundgesellschaft, Voestalpine and Wienerberger.

With the exception of Immoeast, all underlying shares are part of the Austrian blue chip index ATX. The new options will complement the 10 single stock futures on selected Austrian equities that have been listed since 2006.

According to Eurex, the new options represent a further step toward the coverage of main European markets. The exchange expects demand for the new options to come from fund managers and proprietary traders, as well as from issuers of warrants and certificates.

The contract specifications are the same as those for existing German equity options. A contract comprises 100 shares, and is offered with a maturity of up to 24 months. Eurex is waiving trading fees until the end of November.

At the same time, a market-making model for Austrian equity options will support liquidity from the outset. Participants can also settle transactions executed off-exchange using the OTC functions offered by Eurex Clearing.