Euronext raises the stakes in European single stock options

The European group, which operates exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Brussels, Oslo, Lisbon and Dublin, launched on Monday September 1 a raft of cash-settled stock options that allow exposure to some of the top European blue chips.

Among the 20 new contracts in Paris, Euronext launched cash-settled options that reference major French names such as Airbus, BNP Paribas, LVMH Moet Hennessy, Orange, Renault and TotalEnergies.

In Amsterdam, the group made available on Monday 10 options linked to large Dutch blue chips including ABN Amro, ING, Shell and Unilever. Euronext already has physically-delivered versions of single stock options that refer to these firms.

The Euronext contracts are the highlights in an otherwise quiet week for new derivatives, reflecting the seasonal slowdown and Monday’s Labor Day in the US.

The other new contracts this week are gold, silver and uranium options from the Montreal Exchange, part of TMX Group, on Tuesday.

The main US options markets are launching some single stock and exchange-traded fund options on Tuesday, and the Taiwan Futures Exchange has a single stock future on Wednesday.

Euronext’s various markets traded 6.7 million lots of single stock options in July, which was down 15% on last July, according to FOW Data.

The group had a strong first quarter this year, trading 9.1 million lots in February and March, which were Euronext’s busiest months for these products since November 2022, according to FOW Data.

A data specialist said last week the European options market is lagging the US and Asia but there are some green shoots, particularly in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.

Japan Exchange said last week it plans to more than double the number of single stock options open to market-making after a pick-up in activity over the past five months.