CFTC News Release 4392-00

For Release April 6, 2000

 

CFTC Staff Allows the Offer and Sale in the U.S. of Futures Contracts on the LIFFE's Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Pan-Euro Index and the MSCI Euro Index, and on the EUREX's Dow Jones STOXX 50 Index and the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Index

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Office of General Counsel (OGC) today issued no-action letters permitting the offer and sale in the United States of the following stock index futures contracts traded on The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) and the Eurex Deutschland (EUREX):

-- LIFFE's Morgan Stanley Capital International Pan-Euro Index futures contract;

-- LIFFE's Morgan Stanley Capital International Euro Index futures contract;

-- EUREX's Dow Jones STOXX 50 Index futures contract; and,

-- EUREX's Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Index futures contract.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Pan-Euro Index and the MSCI Euro Index are broad-based, modified capitalization-weighted composite indices designed and administered by MSCI. Based on data supplied by LIFFE, the total market capitalizations of the MSCI Pan-Euro Index and the MSCI Euro Index were about U.S. $6.19 trillion and $3.59 trillion respectively, as of December 31, 1999.

Both the Dow Jones STOXX 50 Index and the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Index, which are traded on the Eurex Deutschland, are broadly diversified. As of October 5, 1999, the market capitalization the STOXX 50 Index was 2.83 trillion euros (U.S. $3.023 trillion) and the EURO STOXX 50 Index was 1.925 trillion euros (U.S. $ 2.057 trillion).

  • For more information on foreign exchange-traded indices pending no-action approval with the Commission's OGC, see CFTC BACKGROUNDER, Foreign Instruments Approvals & Exemptions, April 6, 2000, at www.cftc.gov/cftc/cftcreports.htm.

# # #