The EURO STOXX 50® Index and DAX® Index, which underlie two of the world’s most heavily traded derivatives, will serve as the basis for new futures in Brazil, giving traders in the South American nation direct access to the indices.
B3, operator of the Brazilian stock exchange, will list the products in December, Qontigo and B3 said in a press release. The contracts will be traded in euros but cleared in Brazilian reais. This marks the first time that derivatives on the Eurozone and German flagship benchmarks will trade outside of Europe.
“The expansion of our flagship indices to Brazil is an important step for Qontigo as we look to meet the growing global demand for derivatives based on our benchmarks. In particular, the futures on the EURO STOXX 50 and the DAX will provide access for Brazilian investors to express their views on the development of Europe and Germany, the largest single economy in the Eurozone.”
Sean Smith, Managing Director for Derivatives Licensing at Qontigo.
The EURO STOXX 50 Index is the undisputed benchmark for the Eurozone, providing a blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the region. The index covers 50 large stocks currently stemming from eight countries. DAX has for over three decades act as a barometer for Germany’s corporate leaders and the country’s broader economy. The index tracks the performance of the 40 largest companies listed on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange that fulfil certain minimum quality and profitability requirements.
Trading in EURO STOXX 50 Index futures on Eurex amounted to a notional volume of 513 billion euros in August, with open interest in the contracts reaching 131 billion euros at the end of the month. EURO STOXX 50 Index options recorded a notional traded volume of 579 billion euros in the month, for an open interest of 1.16 trillion euros. DAX futures had a notional traded volume of 520 billion euros, for an open interest of 26 billion euros.
The listings come at a time of huge interest in trading from Brazilian investors. B3 said last year that over 2 million new individual investors joined the exchange between April 2019 and April 2020. The exchanges operator has recently reported more than 4 million registered investor accounts.