CFTC News Release 4390-00

For Release April 5, 2000

CFTC Staff Allows the Offer and Sale in the U.S. of Futures Contracts on the FTSE International Limited Eurobloc 100 Index, the Eurotop 300 Index, and the Eurotop 300 (Ex. U.K.) Index

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Office of General Counsel (OGC) issued a no-action letter on April 5, 2000, permitting the offer and sale in the United States of the following stock index futures contracts traded on the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE):

-- The FTSE International Limited Eurobloc 100 Index futures contract;

-- The FTSE International Limited Eurotop 300 Index futures contract; and

-- The FTSE International Limited Eurotop 300 (Ex. U.K.) Index futures contract.

The FTSE Eurobloc 100 Index, the FTSE Eurotop 300 Index, and the FTSE Eurotop 300 (Ex. U.K.) Index are all broad-based, modified capitalization-weighted composite indices designed and administered by FTSE International Limited. Based on data supplied by LIFFE, the total market capitalizations of the FTSE Eurobloc 100 Index, the FTSE Eurotop 300 Index, and the FTSE Eurotop 300 (Ex. U.K.) Index were about U.S. $3.3 trillion, $6.9 trillion, and $4.7 trillion, respectively, as of December 31, 1999.

  • For more information on foreign exchange-traded indices pending no-action approval with the Commission's OGC, see CFTC BACKGROUNDER, Foreign Instruments Approvals & Exemptions, April 5, 2000, at www.cftc.gov/cftc/cftcreports.htm.

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