Bombay Stock Exchange and Eurex will launch futures and options on the Sensex, the blue-chip index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, on 4 October 2010 at Eurex.

The Sensex Index tracks the daily performance of 30 of the largest and most actively traded companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

It is a value-weighted index that represents approximately half of the float-adjusted market capitalization of all stocks traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

“We are committed to offering our members a diverse and truly global product offering across key geographies and asset classes. The Sensex is the most widely recognised gauge for the Indian market and complements our suite of leading equity index derivatives,” says Peter Reitz, member of the Eurex executive board. “By introducing futures and options on this prominent benchmark, we also will advance our efforts in the Asia Pacific region by creating trading opportunities for customers seeking access to this fast-growing emerging economy.”

Madhu Kannan, managing director and chief executive of the Bombay Stock Exchange, adds: “We are very pleased to be working with Eurex to develop a broader international investor base focused on the Sensex. The Sensex will now be trading during a larger portion of the global trading day, which will increase its appeal and value. Moreover, we see the growth of overseas liquidity in the Sensex as helping us to broaden and deepen the market for Sensex products within India.”

The new contracts will be denominated in US dollars and settled in cash. The futures will have maturity dates of the three nearest months, and the following March, June, September and December. Two market-making schemes will be in effect until the end of December 2011 – one to support liquidity during the overlap of Indian and European trading hours and one for European market hours. The expiration dates of the options will be in the three nearest calendar months, the next three quarters and two next semi-annual expiries.