FUTURES Fourth contract date

Press, 11 February 1986, Page 26

FUTURES Fourth contract date

The fourth futures contract in New Zealand, on Government stock, will trade from Monday, February 24. Trading hours in the fiveyear Government stock futures will be 9.05 a.m. to 3.50 p.m. each business day and the first quoted month is March 1986, followed by April, May, June, September and December, 1986.

The contract would have a face value, of $lOO,OOO, a coupon rate of 14 per cent a year, and a term to maturity of five years, said Mr Len Ward, chief executive of the Futures Exchange. The exchange’s first contract was on the U.S. dollar. The second was on shortterm interest rates (prime commercial paper). The third contract was on crossbred wool. This contract had originally been traded both in New Zealand and London on a separate exchange.

Other futures contracts which may be introduced in New Zealand soon are one based on wheat and another

based on a new share-price index.

Trading " The strengthening of the New Zealand dollar forced down the U.S. dollar futures contract yesterday. The February contract was down 130 points (about $650) in moderate trading.

Interest-rate contracts (PCPs) were easier on steadier volume, said Dr Brent Layton, of John Marshall and Company, Ltd. The index for the February contract fell 11 points and that for the March contract fell seven points, reflecting pessimism about short-term Interest rates pending the March 7 cash take.

It was a quiet day on the foreign-exchange (forex) market in Wellington. Two of the other forex exchanges which trade in the New Zealand exchange’s day — Hong Kong and Singapore — wereclosed for the Chinese New Year.

Details of yesterday’s trading:

COMMERCIAL BILLS Mth Open H/L Last Vol Feb 86 7620 624/615 624 71 Mar 86 7615 625/610 621 112 Apr 86 7700 705/700 700 31 Contracts traded: 214 Open positions at Feb 7: Feb 340, Mar 1117, Apr 302, Jun 114, Sep 72, Dec 17, total 1962 (down 17). SUS CONTRACTS Mth Open H/L Last Vol Feb 86 1.8725 8725/625 8660 29 Mar 86 1.8920 8920/761 8761 6 Contracts traded: 35 Open positions at Feb 7: Feb 302, Mar 11, June 3, Sep 2, total 318 (up 1). WOOL FUTURES Mth Open H/L Last Vol Jan 87 528 528/528 530/527 528 13 May 87 538 538/537 540/535 537 11 Aug 87 549 550/548 551/548 550 13 Contracts traded: 37 Open positions at Feb 7: Mar 142, May 366, Aug 201, Oct 209, Dec 212, Jan 210, Mar 310, May. 209, Aug 24, total 1883 (same).