Number:56-95

For Release:December 21, 1995

CFTC APPROVES SIMEX's NIKKEI 300 STOCK INDEX

FUTURES CONTRACT FOR OFFER AND SALE IN THE UNITED STATES

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Office of General Counsel on December 13, 1995, issued no-action letter #95-110 permitting the Singapore International Monetary Exchange's (SIMEX) futures contract based on the Nikkei Stock Index 300 (Nikkei Index) to be offered or sold in the United States. The Nikkei Index is a capitalization-weighted stock index calculated based on the prices of 300 stocks listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The CFTC's Office of General Counsel examined the proposed contract in light of the criteria set forth in the Commodity Exchange Act, including that: the contract must provide for cash settlement; the contract not be readily susceptible to manipulation nor to being used to manipulate any underlying security; and the index be predominately composed of the securities of unaffiliated issuers and reflect the market for all publicly traded securities or a substantial segment thereof.

# # #