Release: 4983-04
For Release: August 31, 2004

CFTC Staff Allows the Mercato Italiano Dei Derivati’s Futures Contracts Based on the S&P/MIB Index to be Offered and Sold in the United States

Washington, D.C. -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC's) Office of General Counsel issued a no-action letter on August 30, 2004, permitting the offer and sale in the United States of the Mercato Italiano Dei Derivati’s (“IDEM’s”) futures contracts based on the S&P/MIB Index (“S&P/MIB”)—the S&P/MIB Futures Contract and the miniFutures Contract.

The S&P/MIB is a broad-based, free-float-adjusted, market-capitalization-weighted security index designed to reflect the overall performance of the Italian equity market. Based on data supplied by IDEM, the total adjusted market capitalization of the S&P/MIB was approximately U.S. $282.4 billion as of May 13, 2004.

• For information on foreign exchange-traded security index futures contracts pending no-action approval with the CFTC's OGC, see the Foreign Instrument Approvals & Exemptions Backgrounder at www.cftc.gov/opa/backgrounder/opapart30.htm.

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