Monday, May 21, 2012

Financial Products News #2012 - 33
World Currency Options Transitioning to PHLX FOREX Options, Effective Monday, June 25, 2012

Markets Impacted:

  • NASDAQ OMX PHLX

Data Feeds Impacted:

  • NASDAQ OMX Global Index Data Service (GIDS)
  • NASDAQ OMX Global Index Watch (GIW)

Contact Information:

What you need to know:

  • As announced in Options Trader Alert #2012-24, at the request of the Options Clearing Corporation, effective Monday, June 25, 2012, NASDAQ OMX PHLXSM (PHLX®) will transition the current World Currency Options (WCOs) to PHLX FOREX OptionsTM.
  • Effective close of business on Friday, June 22, 2012, NASDAQ OMX® will cease to support dissemination of the intraday underlying spot values and settlement values of the NASDAQ OMX World Currency Options on NASDAQ OMX Global Index Data ServiceSM (GIDSSM) as well as NASDAQ OMX Global Index WatchSM (GIWSM), with the exception of the Japanese Yen.

What is changing?

As announced in Options Trader Alert #2012-24, at the request of the Options Clearing Corporation, effective Monday, June 25, 2012, PHLX will transition the current World Currency Options (WCOs) to FOREX Options. The difference between FOREX options and WCOs is that FOREX options, with the exception of the Japanese Yen, will be based on the foreign exchange spot price, instead of an index-price (spot price x 100).

How will this impact index data services?

Effective close of business Friday, June 22, 2012, NASDAQ OMX will cease dissemination of intraday index values, settlement prices and directory messages for the WCO's on the following NASDAQ OMX proprietary index data services:

  • NASDAQ OMX Global Index Data Service (GIDS)
  • NASDAQ OMX Global Index Watch (GIW)

Which WCO indexes will be removed from GIDS and GIW?

NASDAQ OMX will cease the calculation and dissemination of the following World Current Options:

Instrument Name Instrument Identifier Settlement Identifier
Australian WCO XDA AJW
Brazilian WCO XEB JRA
British Pounds WCO XDB BFW
Canadian Dollars WCO XDC CBW
Chinese WCO XEY JYU
Colombian WCO XDP JOC
Danish WCO XDD JQD
Euros WCO XDE EPW
Indian WCO XEN JQI
Mexican WCO XDM JOI
New Zealand WCO XDZ JQL
Norwegian WCO XDV JOG
Russian WCO XDR JQR
South African WCO XEV JRQ
South Korean WCO XDW JRW
Swedish WCO XEH JSU
Swiss Francs WCO XDS SFW
Turkish Lira WCO XLR LTK

Why is the Japanese Yen not making the same conversion as the other currencies?

The current strike price convention is better suited for the Japanese Yen. Therefore, the strike prices will remain the same. Effective Monday, June 25, 2012, the Japanese Yen will be rebranded to the PHLX FOREX Options standard. The following symbol changes will be implemented for the Yen:

Foreign Currency Old WCO Symbol Old WCO Settlement Symbol New PHLX FOREX Symbol New PHLX FOREX Settlement Symbol
Japanese Yen XDN JYW FXJY Unchanged "JYW"

Will NASDAQ OMX provide an underlying spot value for the new FOREX options?

No, NASDAQ OMX will neither publish nor disseminate an underlying spot value for any of the new PHLX FOREX options. The spot values for the currencies are readily available in the market place.

Where can I find additional information?


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About the NASDAQ OMX Group:
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with more than 3,600 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit www.nasdaqomx.com.

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