The Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX),a leading trader of currency options, plans to extend its
trading hours to serve Australasian and Far Eastern markets,
exchange president Nicholas Giordano said.
    He told reporters the PHLX will open a new session between
1900 and 2300 hours U.S. EST from the beginning of the third
quarter this year.
    The PHLX is also opening an office in Hong Kong to serve
clients in the region and educate financial markets about the
advantages of currency options, Giordano said.
    Giordano was in Sydney to start an Asian-Pacific tour by
exchange executives promoting the hedging benefits of the
exchange-trade currency option market against existing
over-the-counter option trading during the local working day.
    Currency options pioneered by the PHLX in 1982 had become
an accepted means of hedging against foreign exchange risk and
had grown in popularity, he said.
    The PHLX now offered options in eight currencies, including
a new Australian dollar option, and traded an average 42,000
contracts daily with underlying open interest of more than 30
billion U.S. Dlrs.
    Giordano said the exchange had been impressed with the
performance of its Australian dollar contract, which since its
introduction last year had regularly topped the French franc as
the third most popular traded option, with up to 8,000
contracts traded daily.
    Having the Philadelphia exchange open during the
Asia-Pacific market day would open new hedging opportunities,
set a truer level for over-the-counter option trading, increase
arbitraging opportunities and give corporations and treasuries
access to a currency option market of much greater depth and
liquidity with the security of a clearing house, he said.
 REUTER
