Equity Options

Units of Trade

100 shares per option contract.

Premium Quotations

Stated in points and fractions. One point equals $100. Minimum tick for series trading below 3 is .05 ($5.00) and for all other series .10 ($10.00).

Strike Price Intervals

2-1/2 points for stocks trading below $25, 5 points for those trading from $25 to $200, and 10 points for those trading above $200.

Exercise Style

American. Option may be exercised on any business day prior to the expiration date.

Expiration Months

Two near-term months plus two additional months in the January, February or March quarterly cycle.

Expiration Dates

The Saturday immediately following the third Friday of the expiration month.

Position Limits

Limits vary according to the number of outstanding share and trading volume. The largest, most frequently traded stocks have an option position limit of 250,000 contracts; smaller capitalization stocks may offer position limits of 200,000, 75,000, 50,000 or 25,000 contracts. Some ETF position limits may even be higher than 250,000. Customer hedge exemptions are available.

Minimum Customer Margin for Uncovered Writers

Purchases of puts or calls with 9 months or less until expiration must be paid for in full. Writers of uncovered puts or calls must deposit / maintain 100% of the option proceeds* plus 20% of the aggregate contract value (current equity price x $100) minus the amount by which the option is out-of-the-money, if any, subject to a minimum for calls of option proceeds* plus 10% of the aggregate contract value and a minimum for puts of option proceeds* plus 10% of the aggregate exercise price amount.

(*For calculating maintenance margin, use option current market value instead of option proceeds.)

Trading Hours

9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).

Exercise Settlement Price

Strike price times $100.

Exercise Settlement Time

Exercise notices tendered on any business day will result in delivery of the underlying stock on the third (T+3) business day following exercise.