Euronext has added new weekly options for its French and Belgian single stocks.
The exchange operator said the popularity of weekly options on Dutch stocks and demand from market participants prompted the new launch.
New short-term option classes cover three Belgian shares and seven French shares, all available for trading from today.
Weekly options were launched for Dutch stocks in July 2010 and have seen a steady increase in average daily volume. So far this year, nearly 230,000 contracts have been traded, up 60% from 2014 and more than double that traded in 2013.
The contracts cost less to trade than their longer-dated alternatives and benefit from volatility of shares for short-term trading strategies.
“With the launch of weekly options, we are answering the needs of the well-informed investor looking to leverage price fluctuations in blue chip stocks,” said Adam Rose, head of financial derivatives at Euronext.
“By rolling out the successful franchise on Dutch stocks to Euronext Brussels and Paris, we are now the reference market for weekly options on Euronext listed stocks.”