CME extends by ten years exclusive license agreement with Nasdaq

The US group, which has listed Nasdaq futures and options since 1999, said on Tuesday it has extended until 2039 its exclusive agreement with Nasdaq to offer futures and options based on the Nasdaq 100 index and the US group’s other key equity indices.

CME Group chairman and chief executive officer welcomed the new agreement: "Extending our exclusive licensing agreement with Nasdaq will ensure that global market participants continue to have seamless access to our deeply liquid Nasdaq futures and options on futures, which are among the world's most actively traded financial products.”

The Chicago group’s Nasdaq index futures and options are among CME’s most-traded equity index contracts with the flagship S&P 500 complex.

CME’s micro E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures contract was the group’s second most-traded equity derivative last month, reporting 26.7 million lots, which was up 7% on the same month last year, according to the exchange.

The US group’s E-mini S&P 500 futures contract is the CME’s main US equity future, trading 31.8m lots last month, down 7.6% on June 2024, according to CME.

CME Group’s E-mini Nasdaq 100 future was the exchange’s fourth most-traded equity future in June, with 10.2m lots traded, down 22% on the same month last year.

Duffy added: "Building on nearly 30 years of success, our partnership has enabled clients to manage risk or gain exposure to the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq, while providing significant capital efficiencies for those trading across our equity index complex."

CME Group said this month non-US trading of its products reached an all-time high last quarter as European, Middle Eastern and Asian traders used the US group’s derivatives to navigate the recent US volatility.

The US group reported at the start of this month its second consecutive record quarter for trading volume, as last quarter’s 30.2m lots of ADV beat the first quarter’s earlier record of 29.8m lots.