95-9458. Self-Regulatory Organizations; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change by the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc., and Notice of Filing and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Amendment Nos. 1 and 2 to the Proposed Rule Change Relating to the ...  

  • [Federal Register Volume 60, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 18, 1995)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 19423-19427]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 95-9458]
    
    
    
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    SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
    [Release No. 34-35591; File No. SR-Phlx-95-07]
    
    
    Self-Regulatory Organizations; Order Approving Proposed Rule 
    Change by the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc., and Notice of Filing 
    and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Amendment Nos. 1 and 2 to 
    the Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Listing and Trading of Options 
    and Long-Term Options on the Phlx USTOP 100 Index
    
    April 11, 1995.
    
    I. Introduction
    
        On January 30, 1995, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc. 
    (``Phlx'' or ``Exchange'') submitted to the Securities and Exchange 
    Commission (``Commission''), pursuant to section 19(b)(1) of the 
    Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'')\1\ and Rule 19b-4 
    thereunder,\2\ a proposed rule change to provide for the listing and 
    trading of index options on the Phlx USTOP 100 Index (``USTOP 100 
    Index'' or ``Index''). Notice of the proposal appeared in the Federal 
    Register on February 20, 1995.\3\ The Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to 
    the proposed rule change on March 7, 1995,\4\ and Amendment No. 2 on 
    March 17, 1995.\5\ This order approves the Exchange's proposal, as 
    amended.
    
        \1\15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) (1988).
        \2\17 CFR 240.19b-4 (1992).
        \3\See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 35326 (February 3, 
    1995), 60 FR 8104 (February 20, 1995).
        \4\In Amendment No. 1, the Phlx proposes to reset the starting 
    value for the Index at 405.36 as of the opening on January 3, 1995, 
    as opposed to 370 on December 14, 1994, as originally proposed. See 
    Letter from Michele Weisbaum, Associate General Counsel, Phlx, to 
    Brad Ritter, Senior Counsel, Office of Market Supervision (``OMS''), 
    Division of Market Regulation (``Division''), Commission, dated 
    March 7, 1995 (``Amendment No. 1'').
        \5\In Amendment No. 2, as discussed herein, the Phlx proposes to 
    list long-term options on the Index. See Letter from Michele 
    Weisbaum, Associate General Counsel, Phlx, to Brad Ritter, Senior 
    Counsel, OMS, Division, Commission, dated March 17, 1995 
    (``Amendment No. 2'').
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    II. Description of Proposal
    
    A. Composition of the Index
    
        The Phlx proposes to list for trading options on the Phlx USTOP 100 
    Index, a new broad-based stock index to be calculated and maintained by 
    the Phlx. The Index will be composed of 100 of the most highly 
    capitalized, widely-held U.S. common stocks representing a variety of 
    industries, including, but not limited to, technology, manufacturing, 
    and the service industries. Ninety-four of the components in the Index 
    are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (``NYSE'') and six are Nasdaq 
    National Market securities. All component stocks are ``reported 
    securities,'' as that term is defined in Rule 11Aa3-1 of the Act.\6\ 
    The Phlx also proposes to list long-term Index options on the full-
    value Index (``Index LEAPS'').\7\ Index LEAPS will trade independent of 
    and in addition to regular USTOP 100 Index options traded on the 
    Exchange; however, as discussed below, position and exercise limits of 
    Index LEAPS and regular Index options will be aggregated. The Phlx will 
    use a capitalization-weighted methodology to calculate the value of the 
    Index.\8\
    
        \6\See 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-1. A ``reported security'' is defined in 
    paragraph (a)(4) of this rule as ``any listed equity security or 
    NASDAQ security for which transaction reports are required to be 
    made on a real-time basis pursuant to an effective transaction 
    reporting plan.'' A ``transaction reporting plan'' is defined in 
    paragraph (a)(2) of this rule as ``any plan for collecting, 
    processing, making available or disseminating transaction reports 
    with respect to transactions in reported securities filed with the 
    Commission pursuant to, and meeting the requirements of, this 
    section.''
        \7\See Amendment No. 2, supra note 5.
        \8\See infra Section II.D, entitled ``Calculation of the 
    Index,'' for a description of this calculation method.
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        As of the close of trading on March 6, 1995, the Index was valued 
    at 427.98.\9\ As of January 23, 1995, the market capitalizations of the 
    individual securities in the Index ranged from a high of $86.12 billion 
    to a low of $7.61 billion, with the mean being $20.66 billion. The 
    market capitalization of all the securities in the Index was 
    approximately $2.07 trillion. The total number of shares outstanding on 
    that date for the stocks in the Index ranged from a high of 557.2 
    million shares to a low of 15.7 million shares. In addition, the 
    average daily trading volume in the U.S. of the stocks in the Index for 
    the six-month period from July 1, 1994, through December 31, 1994, 
    ranged from a high of 3.06 million shares per day to a low of 207,795 
    shares per day. Finally, as of January 23, 1995, no one component 
    accounted for more than 4.17% of the Index's total value and the 
    percentage weighting of the five largest issues in the Index accounted 
    for 17.28% of the Index's value. The percentage weighting of the lowest 
    weighted component on that date was 0.37% of the Index and the 
    percentage weighting of the five smallest issues in the Index accounted 
    for 1.99% of the Index's value.
    
        \9\See Amendment No. 1, supra note 4.
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    B. Maintenance
    
        The Index will be maintained by the Phlx. The Phlx will make 
    special adjustments to the securities comprising the Index to reflect 
    such events as stock splits or reverse splits, spinoffs, stock 
    dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations, and similar events, upon 
    their occurrence. In accordance with Phlx Rule 1009A, if any change in 
    the nature of any stock in the Index occurs as a result of delisting, 
    merger, acquisition or otherwise, the Exchange will take appropriate 
    steps to delete that stock from the Index and replace it with another 
    stock which the Exchange believes would be compatible with the intended 
    market character of the Index. In making replacement determinations, 
    the Exchange will also take into account the capitalization, liquidity, 
    and volatility of a particular stock.
        The Exchange represents that all of the stocks comprising the Index 
    currently are options eligible\10\ and [[Page 19424]] have standardized 
    options listed on them. If at any time, less than 90% of the components 
    in the Index, by weight, are options eligible, the Exchange will submit 
    a Rule 19b-4 filing for Commission approval before opening any new 
    series of options on the Index for trading. Further, the Exchange will 
    submit a Rule 19b-4 filing for Commission approval prior to opening any 
    new series of options on the Index if the number of stocks in the Index 
    ever increases to more than 120 or decreases to less than 80.
    
        \10\The Phlx's options listing standards, which are uniform 
    among the options exchanges, provide that a security underlying an 
    option must, among other things, meet the following requirements: 
    (1) the public float must be at least 7,000,000 shares; (2) there 
    must be a minimum of 2,000 stockholders; (3) trading volume in the 
    U.S. must have been at least 2.4 million over the preceding twelve 
    months; and (4) the U.S. market price must have been at least $7.50 
    for a majority of the business days during the preceding three 
    calendar months. See Phlx Rule 1009, Commentary .01.
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    C. Applicability of Phlx Rules Regarding Index Options
    
        Except as modified by this order, Phlx Rules 1000A through 1103A, 
    in particular, and Phlx Rules 1000 through 1070, in general, will be 
    applicable to USTOP 100 Index options and Index LEAPS.
    
    D. Calculation of the Index
    
        The value of the USTOP 100 Index will be calculated using a 
    capitalization-weighted methodology. The representation of each 
    security in the Index will be proportional to the security's last sale 
    price multiplied by the total number of shares outstanding, in relation 
    to the total market value of all of the securities in the Index. The 
    initial value of the Index was set to equal 405.36 index and reflects 
    changes in the prices of the Index component securities relative to the 
    Index's base date of January 3, 1995.\11\ The formula for calculating 
    the value of the Index is as follows:\12\
    
        \11\See Amendment No. 1, supra note 4.
        \12\The formula for calculating the value of the Index is the 
    same as that previously approved by the Commission for calculating 
    the value of the Phlx Big Cap Index. See Securities Exchange Act 
    Release No. 33973 (April 28, 1994), 59 FR 23245 (May 5, 1994). 
    Telephone conversation between Michele Weisbaum, Associate General 
    Counsel, Phlx, and Brad Ritter, Senior Counsel, OMS, Division, 
    Commission, on February 2, 1995.
    
    Current Index Value equals 
    (MV1)+(MV2)+(MV100) 
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    divided by Divisor and multiplied by 100
    
    Where:
    MV=Price x Shares outstanding for each component of the Index
    Divisor=Number calculated to achieve a base value of 405.36 for the 
    Index as of the opening of trading on January 3, 1995.
    
        The Index divisor will be adjusted for changes in the 
    capitalization of any of the component securities resulting from 
    mergers, acquisitions, delistings, substitutions, and other like 
    corporate events. The formula for adjusting the divisor is as follows:
    
    Divisor equals to Total Capitalization (as a result of adjustments) 
    divided by Old Index Value
    
        The Index value will be updated dynamically at least once every 15 
    seconds during the trading day. The Phlx has retained Bridge Data, Inc. 
    to compute the value of the Index. Pursuant to Phlx Rule 1100A, updated 
    Index values will be disseminated and displayed by means of primary 
    market prints reported by the Consolidated Tape Association and over 
    the facilities of the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA''). The 
    Index value will also be available on broker/dealer interrogation 
    devices to subscribers of the option information.
        The Index value for purposes of settling outstanding regular Index 
    options and Index LEAPS contracts upon expiration will be calculated 
    based upon the regular way opening sale prices for each of the Index's 
    component securities in their primary market on the last trading day 
    prior to expiration. In the case of securities traded on and through 
    Nasdaq, the first reported sale price will be used. Once all the 
    component stocks have opened, the value of the Index will be determined 
    and that value will be used as the final settlement value for expiring 
    Index options and Index LEAPS contracts. If any of the component stocks 
    do not open for trading on the last trading day before expiration, then 
    the prior trading day's (i.e., normally Thursday's) last sale price 
    will be used in the Index calculation. In this regard, before deciding 
    to use Thursday's closing value of a component security for purposes of 
    determining the settlement value of the Index, the Phlx will wait until 
    the end of the day on the last trading day before expiration.\13\
    
        \13\Telephone conversation between Michele Weisbaum, Associate 
    General Counsel, Phlx, and Brad Ritter, Senior Counsel, OMS, 
    Division, Commission, on March 16, 1995.
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    E. Contract Specifications
    
        The proposed options on the Index will be cash-settled, European-
    style options.\14\ Standard options trading hours (9:30 a.m. to 4:10 
    p.m. Eastern Standard time) will apply to the contracts. The Index 
    multiplier will be 100. Strike prices will be set at 5.0 point 
    intervals except exercise prices in the far-term series (i.e., nine 
    months to expiration) shall be set in 25.0 point intervals unless 
    demonstrated customer interest exists at 5.0 point intervals.\15\ 
    Additional exercise prices will be added in accordance with Phlx Rule 
    1101A(a). Demonstrated customer interest will include institutional 
    (firm), corporate or customer interest expressed directly to the 
    Exchange or through the customer's floor brokerage unit but not 
    interest expressed by a registered option trader (``ROT'') with respect 
    to trading for the ROT's own account.\16\
    
        \14\A European-style option can be exercised only during a 
    specified period before the option expires.
        \15\The limitations applicable to the listing of 25.0 point 
    strike price intervals will be the same as those applicable to the 
    listing of 25.0 point strike price intervals on far-term index 
    option series listed on the Exchange's Big Cap Index. See Securities 
    Exchange Act Release No. 34233 (June 17, 1994), 59 FR 32731 (June 
    24, 1994) (``Exchange Act Release No. 34233'').
        \16\Exchange Rule 1101A, Commentary .02, which already permits 
    25.0 point intervals in far-term series for the Exchange's other 
    broad-based indexes will be amended to include this treatment for 
    the USTOP 100 Index.
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        In addition, pursuant to Phlx rule 1012(a), there may-be-up to six 
    expiration months outstanding at any given time. Specifically, there 
    may be up to three expiration months from the March, June, September, 
    and December cycle plus up to three additional near-term months so that 
    the two nearest term months will always be available.
        The Exchange also intends to list several Index LEAPS series that 
    expire from 12 to 36 months from the date of issuance pursuant to Phlx 
    Rule 1101A(b)(iii).\17\
    
        \17\See Amendment No. 2 supra note 5. The Exchange has also 
    submitted a proposal to increase the maximum term to maturity for 
    index LEAPS from 36 months to 60 months for all of its options 
    approved indexes. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 35376 
    (February 14, 1995), 60 FR 9880 (February 22, 1995).
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    F. Position and Exercise Limits, Margin Requirements, and Trading Halts
    
        Position limits for the Index will be set at 25,000 contracts on 
    the same side of the market, provided that no more than 15,000 of such 
    contracts are in series in the nearest term expiration month.\18\ 
    Exercise limits will be set at the same level as position limits.\19\ 
    Positions in Index LEAPS will be aggregated with positions in regular 
    Index options on a one-for-one basis for purposes of position and 
    exercise limits.\20\ Exchange rules applicable to options on the Index 
    will be identical to the rules applicable to other broad-based index 
    options for purposes of [[Page 19425]] trading rotations, halts, and 
    suspensions,\21\ and margin treatment.\22\
    
        \18\See Phlx Rule 1001A(a)(i).
        \19\See Phlx Rule 1002A.
        \20\See Amendment No. 2, supra note 5.
        \21\See Phlx Rule 1047A.
        \22\See Phlx Rules 722 and 1000A.
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    G. Surveillance
    
        Surveillance procedures currently used to monitor trading in each 
    of the Exchange's other index options will also be used to monitor 
    trading in Index options and Index LEAPS. These procedures include 
    complete access to trading activity in the underlying securities. 
    Further, the Intermarket Surveillance Group Agreement, dated July 14, 
    1983, as amended on January 29, 1990, will be applicable to the trading 
    of options on the Index.\23\
    
        \23\The Intermarket Surveillance Group (``ISG'') was formed on 
    July 14, 1983 to, among other things, coordinate more effectively 
    surveillance and investigative information sharing arrangements in 
    the stock and options markets. See Intermarket Surveillance Group 
    Agreement, July 14, 1983. The most recent amendment to the ISG 
    Agreement, which incorporates the original agreement and all 
    amendments made thereafter, was signed by ISG members on January 29, 
    1990. See Second Amendment to the Intermarket Surveillance Group 
    Agreement, January 29, 1990. The members of the ISG are: the 
    American Stock Exchange, Inc. (``Amex''); the Boston Stock Exchange, 
    Inc.; the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc.; the Chicago Stock 
    Exchange, Inc.; the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. 
    (``NASD''); the NYSE; the Pacific Stock Exchange, Inc.; and the 
    Phlx. Because of potential opportunities for trading abuses 
    involving stock index futures, stock options, and the underlying 
    stock and the need for greater sharing of surveillance information 
    for these potential intermarket trading abuses, the major stock 
    index futures exchanges (e.g., the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and 
    the Chicago Board of Trade) joined the ISG as affiliate members in 
    1990.
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    III. Findings and Conclusions
    
        The Commission finds that the proposed rule change is consistent 
    with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations 
    thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange, and, in 
    particular, the requirements of Section 6(b)(5).\24\ In particular, the 
    Commission finds that the Index is broad-based, the proposed Index 
    options and Index LEAPS are designed to reduce the potential for 
    manipulation, and the proposal to list and trade options on the USTOP 
    100 Index is consistent with the Exchange's obligation to promote 
    investor protection.
    
        \24\15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5) (1988 & Supp. V 1993).
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        The Commission finds that the trading of options on the Index will 
    permit investors to participate in the price movements of the 100 
    securities on which the Index is based. Further, trading of options on 
    the Index will allow investors holding positions in some or all of the 
    securities underlying the Index to hedge the risks associated with 
    their portfolios. Accordingly, the Commission believes the USTOP 100 
    Index options and Index LEAPS will provide investors with an important 
    trading and hedging mechanism that should reflect accurately the 
    overall movement of 100 of the largest and most widely-held U.S. common 
    stocks. By broadening the hedging and investment opportunities of 
    investors, the Commission believes that the trading of Index options 
    will serve to protect investors, promote the public interest, and 
    contribute to the maintenance of fair and orderly markets.\25\
    
        \25\Pursuant to Section 6(b)(5) of the Act, the Commission must 
    predicate approval of any new option proposal upon a finding that 
    the introduction of such new derivative instrument is in the public 
    interest. Such a finding would be difficult for a derivative 
    instrument that served no hedging or other economic function, 
    because any benefits that might be derived by market participants 
    likely would be outweighed by the potential for manipulation, 
    diminished public confidence in the integrity of the markets, and 
    other valid regulatory concerns. In this regard, the trading of 
    listed Index options and Index LEAPS will provide investors with a 
    hedging vehicle that should reflect the overall movement of the 100 
    component stocks.
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        The trading of Index options and Index LEAPS on the USTOP 100 
    Index, however, raises several concerns, namely issues related to index 
    design, customer protection, surveillance, and market impact. The 
    Commission believes, however, for the reasons discussed below, that the 
    Phlx adequately has addressed these concerns.
    
    A. Index Design and Structure
    
        The Commission finds that the USTOP 100 Index is a broad-based 
    index, and thus it is appropriate to permit Exchange rules applicable 
    to the trading of broad-based index options to apply to the Index 
    options and Index LEAPS. Specifically, the Commission believes the 
    Index is broad-based because it contains 100 actively-traded stocks 
    representing over 35 industry groups, and thus reflects a substantial 
    segment of the U.S. equities market.
        The Commission also finds that the large capitalizations, liquid 
    markets, and relative weightings of the Index's component securities 
    significantly minimize the potential for manipulation of the Index. 
    First, the Index repesents and consists of the common stock values of 
    100 actively traded U.S. companies. Second, the overwhelming majority 
    of the components that comprise the Index are actively traded, with an 
    average daily trading volume for the period from July 1, 1994 through 
    December 31, 1994, ranging from a high of 3.06 million shares per day 
    to a low of 207,795 shares per day. Third, the market capitalizations 
    of the securities in the Index are extremely large, raning from a high 
    of $86.12 billion to a low of $7.61 billion as of January 23, 1995, 
    with the mean being $20.67 billion. Fourth, no one particular security 
    or [[Page 19426]] 
    group of securities dominates the Index. Specifically, as of January 
    23, 1995, no one stock accounted for more than 4.17% of the Index's 
    total value and the percentage weighting of the five largest issues in 
    the Index accounted for only 17.28% of the Index's value. Fifth, all of 
    the components in the Index have standardized options trading on them 
    and the Phlx will maintain the Index so that at least 90% of the 
    securities in the Index, by weight, are eligible for standardized 
    options trading. This proposed maintenance requirement will ensure that 
    the Index is substantially comprised of options eligible 
    securities.\26\ Sixth, the Index is comprised of stocks representing a 
    diverse group of industries. Finally, the Commission believes that, as 
    discussed below, existing mechanisms to monitor trading activity in the 
    component securities will help deter as well as detect illegal trading 
    activity involving the Index options and Index LEAPS.
    
        \26\Moreover, the Commission notes that if the Phlx increases 
    the number of component securities to more than 120 or decreases 
    that number to less than 80, the Phlx will be required to seek 
    Commission approval pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act before 
    listing new strike price or expiration month series of USTOP 100 
    Index options or Index LEAPS.
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    B. Customer Protection
    
        The Commission believes that a regulatory system designed to 
    protect public customers must be in place before the trading of 
    sophisticated financial instruments, such as USTOP 100 Index options 
    and Index LEAPS, can commence on a national securities exchange. The 
    Commission notes that the trading of standardized exchange-traded 
    options occurs in an environment that is designed to ensure, among 
    other things, that: (1) The special risks of options are disclosed to 
    public customers; (2) only investors capable of evaluating and bearing 
    the risks of options trading are engaged in such trading; and (3) 
    special compliance procedures are applicable to options accounts. 
    Accordingly, because the Index options and Index LEAPS will be subject 
    to the same regulatory regime as the other standardized options 
    currently traded on the Phlx, the Commission believes that adequate 
    safeguards are in place to ensure the protection of investors in USTOP 
    100 Index options and LEAPS.\27\
    
        \27\The Commission also believes that the portion of the 
    Exchange's proposal allowing 25.0 point strike price intervals for 
    far-term option series strikes a reasonable balance between the 
    Exchange's interest in limiting the number of outstanding strike 
    prices in inactive far-term series and its interest in accommodating 
    the needs of investors. In addition, the Commission believes that 
    the provision allowing the Exchange to list additional far-term 
    series at 5.0 point intervals in response to genuine customer 
    requests should provide the Exchange with the flexibility to meet 
    the needs of investors and, in turn, should allow investors to 
    establish options positions that are tailored to meet their 
    investment objectives. The Commission expects the Exchange to 
    monitor the listing of additional strikes in order to ensure that 
    new strikes are added only in response to genuine customer requests. 
    See Exchange Act Release No. 34233, supra note 15 and Exchange Rule 
    1101A, Commentary .02.
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    C. Surveillance
    
        The Commission believes that a surveillance sharing agreement 
    between an exchange proposing to list a security index derivative 
    product and the exchange(s) trading the securities underlying the 
    derivative product is an important measure for surveillance of the 
    derivative and underlying securities markets. Such agreements ensure 
    the availability of information necessary to detect and deter potential 
    manipulations and other trading abuses, thereby making the security 
    index product less readily susceptible to manipulation.\28\ In this 
    regard, the Phlx, NYSE, Amex, and NASD are all members of the ISG, 
    which provides for the exchange of all necessary surveillance 
    information.\29\
    
        \28\Securities Exchange Act Release No. 31243 (September 28, 
    1992), 57 FR 45849 (October 5, 1992).
        \29\See supra note 23.
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    D. Market Impact
    
        The Commission believes that the listing and trading of USTOP 100 
    Index options and Index LEAPS on the Phlx will not adversely impact the 
    underlying securities markets.\30\ First, as described above, the Index 
    is broad-based and composed of 100 stocks with no one stock dominating 
    the Index. Second, because (i) at least 90% of the numerical value of 
    the Index must be accounted for by securities that meet the Exchange's 
    options listing standards, (ii) each of the component securities must 
    be traded on either the NYSE or the Amex, or traded through Nasdaq as 
    National Market securities, and (iii) the component securities must be 
    subject to last sale reporting pursuant to Rule 11Aa3-1 of the Act,\31\ 
    the component securities generally will be actively-traded, highly-
    capitalized securities. Third, the 25,000 contract position and 
    exercise limits, along with the 15,000 contract telescoping 
    requirement, will serve to minimize potential manipulation and market 
    impact concerns. Fourth, the risk to investors of contra-party 
    performance will be minimized because the Index options will be issued 
    and guaranteed by The Options Clearing Corporation just like any other 
    standardized option traded in the United States. Fifth, existing Phlx 
    stock index options rules and surveillance procedures will apply to 
    options on the USTOP 100 Index.
    
        \30\In addition, the Phlx has represented that the Phlx and the 
    OPRA have the necessary systems capacity to support those new series 
    of options that would result from the introduction of Index options 
    and Index LEAPS. See Letter from Michele Weisbaum, Associate General 
    Counsel, Phlx, to Brad Ritter, Senior Counsel, OMS, Division, 
    Commission, dated February 2, 1995; and Memorandum from Joe 
    Corrigan, Executive Director, OPRA, to Jamie Farmer, New Product 
    Development, Phlx, dated January 31, 1995.
        \31\See supra note 6.
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        Lastly, the Commission believes that settling expiring USTOP 100 
    Index options and Index LEAPS based on the opening prices of component 
    securities is consistent with the Act. As noted in other contexts, 
    valuing options for exercise settlement on expiration based on opening 
    prices rather than closing prices may help reduce adverse effects on 
    markets for securities underlying options on the Index.\32\
    
        \32\See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 30944 (July 21, 
    1992), 57 FR 33376 (July 28, 1992).
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        The Commission finds good cause for approving Amendment Nos. 1 and 
    2 to the proposed rule change prior to the thirtieth day after the date 
    of publication of notice of filing thereof in the Federal Register. 
    Specifically, Amendment No. 1 merely changes the initial value of the 
    Index. Because this amendment is being made prior to commencement of 
    trading of Index options and Index LEAPS, the Commission believes that 
    this change will not create any potential for investor confusion and 
    therefore does not raise any new regulatory concerns.
        Amendment No. 2 allows the Phlx to list Index LEAPS in addition to 
    regular Index options. Because the proposed Index LEAPS will be subject 
    to the same rules governing Index options and because positions in 
    Index LEAPS will be aggregated with those in Index options for purposes 
    of position and exercise limits, the Commission believes that Amendment 
    No. 2 does not raise any regulatory concerns not already addressed by 
    the Exchange, as discussed above.
        Accordingly, the Commission believes it is consistent with section 
    6(b)(5) of the Act to approve Amendment Nos. 1 and 2 to the Phlx's 
    proposal on an accelerated basis.
        Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and 
    arguments concerning Amendment Nos. 1 and 2. Persons making written 
    submissions should file six copies thereof with the Secretary, 
    Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, 
    D.C. 20549. Copies of the submission, all subsequent 
    [[Page 19427]] amendments, all written statements with respect to the 
    proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all 
    written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the 
    Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from 
    the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 
    available for inspection and copying in the Commission's Public 
    Reference Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Copies of 
    such filing will also be available for inspection and copying at the 
    principle office of the Phlx. All submissions should refer to the File 
    No. SR-Phlx-95-07 and should be submitted by May 9, 1995.
        It Is Therefore Ordered, pursuant to section 19(b)(2) of the 
    Act,\33\ that the proposed rule change (SR-Phlx-95-07), as amended, is 
    approved.
    
        \33\15 U.S.C. 78s(b) (2) (1988).
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        For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
    pursuant to delegated authority.\34\
    
        \34\17 CFR 200.30-3 (a) (12) (1994).
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    Margaret H. McFarland,
    Deputy Secretary.
    [FR Doc. 95-9458 Filed 4-17-95; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 8010-011-M
    
    

Document Information

Published:
04/18/1995
Department:
Securities and Exchange Commission
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
95-9458
Pages:
19423-19427 (5 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Release No. 34-35591, File No. SR-Phlx-95-07
PDF File:
95-9458.pdf