The International Securities Exchange (ISE) today announced that it will extend trading hours for all products in its suite of ISE FX Options®. Beginning on April 30, 2010, trading in ISE's currency options will open at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Trading will close at 4:15 p.m.
"We are very excited to extend the trading hours in our FX options products," said Kris Monaco, Director of New Product Development at ISE. "By opening our market two hours earlier, we will be able to attract participants who are active in the foreign exchange markets prior to ISE's current 9:30 a.m. opening time. The extended hours will appeal to a broader range of foreign exchange traders, especially from the UK and other countries in Western Europe, and ISE's FX options products will benefit from additional liquidity during peak FX trading hours."
ISE currently lists FX options on ten currency pairs. The USD-based, or "per US$," currency convention is available for all ten pairs and allows investors to express their views on the strength or weakness of the U.S. dollar relative to global currencies while adopting the trading strategies they currently use for equity and index options. The "in US$" currency convention, which is the inverse of the USD-based convention, is the traditional convention used in the FX spot market and is available on four currency pairs.
As exchange-listed securities, ISE FX Options can be easily accessed through most major brokerage accounts that are approved for trading equity and index options. These products are cash-settled and have European style exercise. For more information about ISE FX Options, please visit www.ise.com/fx. For breaking news, trading and educational tools, as well as market commentary and analysis on FX options, please visit www.fxoptions.com, ISE's online trader community exclusively dedicated to FX options.