CME Group Stock Price, News & Analysis

CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, has announced the launch of Bitcoin Friday futures (BFF) on September 30, 2024, pending regulatory review. These new weekly futures contracts will be cash-settled to the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York Variant (BRRNY) at 4:00 p.m. New York time every Friday. Sized at one-fiftieth of one bitcoin, BFF contracts aim to provide investors of all sizes with more accurate fine-tuning of their bitcoin exposure on a regulated exchange.

The contracts will be listed every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. New York time for a Friday trade date, with trading available for the nearest two Fridays. This Friday expiry allows for closer tracking of bitcoin's spot price and helps mitigate weekend price moves. The launch aligns with CME Group's strategy to expand its cryptocurrency derivatives offerings and cater to a broader range of investors, from institutions to sophisticated retail traders.

CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, has opened registration for its 21st annual Global University Trading Challenge. The competition, running from October 6 to October 31, 2024, offers undergraduate and graduate students worldwide an opportunity to manage mock investment portfolios using a professional trading platform. Participants will navigate market uncertainties, manage risks, and compete against teams from various universities.

The challenge aims to provide hands-on experience in futures markets and risk management. Last year's event attracted over 400 teams from 24 countries, representing 156 universities. CME Group continues its commitment to educating future finance professionals through this challenge and other educational initiatives like Futures Fundamentals.

CME Group Foundation has awarded scholarships to 18 historically underrepresented students majoring in finance, technology, and related fields. Each recipient will receive up to $20,000, renewable for three years. Since its inception in 2019, the program has distributed over $3.5 million to nearly 100 students across 11 partner colleges and universities in the U.S.

The scholarship aims to support future leaders by providing financial assistance and career development opportunities. Recipients will have the chance to pursue college degrees debt-free, leading to careers in finance, computer science, and technology. The program also includes a Day of Recognition and Market Education, where scholarship recipients can learn about internship and career opportunities at CME Group and in the financial services industry.

CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, has declared a third-quarter dividend of $1.15 per share, payable on September 25, 2024, to shareholders of record as of September 9, 2024. CME Group operates exchanges offering a wide range of global benchmark products across major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products, and metals. The company provides trading platforms such as CME Globex for futures and options, BrokerTec for fixed income, and EBS for foreign exchange. Additionally, CME Group operates CME Clearing, one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers.

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index rose 8 points to 113 in July, with improvements in both current conditions and future expectations. Despite declines in corn and soybean prices, farmer sentiment improved. High input costs remained the top concern for 34% of farmers, followed by the risk of lower crop and livestock prices at 29%.

The Farm Financial Performance Index dropped 4 points to 81, reflecting worries about weakening commodity prices and high input costs. However, the Farm Capital Investment Index rose 6 points to 38, indicating a slight decrease in pessimism about large investments. Farmland value expectations showed mixed results, with short-term expectations improving slightly and long-term expectations declining.

CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, announced a new record in Live Cattle options open interest, reaching 410,120 contracts on August 1, 2024. This surpasses the previous record of 399,626 set on July 31, 2014. The surge in open interest reflects high demand and low supply in the cattle market, with levels not seen in over 60 years. Live Cattle options volume has grown 61% year to date, highlighting their importance as a risk management tool for producers, processors, and institutions navigating market uncertainty.

John Ricci, Managing Director and Global Head of Agriculture at CME Group, emphasized the significance of these options in helping market participants hedge price risk effectively. CME Group continues to offer the industry's widest range of benchmark cattle products, reinforcing its position as a leader in agricultural derivatives.

CME Group reported a record July average daily volume (ADV) of 24.8 million contracts, up 24% from July 2023. Highlights include:

- Record July ADV in interest rate (11.6M), equity index (7.4M), metals (765K), agricultural (1.7M), and options (5.1M) products
- Record July U.S. Treasury futures and options ADV of 6.6M contracts
- International ADV grew 28% to 7.6M contracts
- Energy ADV increased 25% to 2.5M contracts
- Foreign Exchange ADV rose 9% to 959K contracts

Notable increases: Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures ADV up 62%, Henry Hub Natural Gas options ADV up 71%, and Micro Gold futures ADV up 68%. BrokerTec U.S. Treasury notional volume reached $172B on July 31, the third-highest trading day in 2024.

CME Group announced record open interest for its Lithium Hydroxide and Lithium Carbonate futures contracts on July 31, 2024. Lithium Hydroxide futures reached 26,802 contracts, while Lithium Carbonate futures hit 1,092 contracts. The surge in interest reflects growing demand for lithium and the need to manage price risk in the market.

Key highlights include:

• Record daily Lithium Hydroxide futures volume of 1,121 contracts on July 30, 2024
• Record Lithium Hydroxide options open interest of 579 contracts on July 31, 2024
• Average open interest for July 2024 was 24,775

Jin Hennig, CME Group Managing Director, noted that Lithium Hydroxide futures trading in the first half of 2024 has already surpassed full-year 2023 totals, indicating strong market participation and growing interest in lithium futures.

CME Group (CME) has announced the launch of Adjusted Interest Rate S&P 500 (AIR) Total Return (SOFR) futures on August 26, 2024, pending regulatory review. This new product will use the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) instead of the current Effective Federal Funds Rate (EFFR). The move comes as SOFR has become the preferred industry benchmark for short-term U.S. overnight financing.

Key points:

• Year-to-date average daily volume of 9,800 contracts in existing AIR Total Return futures, up 113% year-over-year
• CME Group SOFR futures have a year-to-date average daily volume of 3.3 million contracts
• The new SOFR-based contracts aim to provide additional flexibility for managing swap exposure