SEC lets Cboe add weekday expirations to S&P 500 index options

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal market regulator, approved a Cboe Exchange rule change that gives SPX traders more ways to match an option’s expiration to the day they need it. SPX means the S&P 500 Index, and A.M.-settled options lock in their value in the morning instead of at the close.

Cboe can now list these options for any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, except the third Friday of the month and days that coincide with an end-of-month expiration. The exchange can also list contracts that expire on the last trading day of the month.

When the calendar matters

For traders using SPX contracts to hedge broad stock-market exposure, the extra dates matter because protection is often about timing as much as direction. A hedge that runs past the date you care about can cost more than you need to pay, while one that ends too soon can leave a gap. The new menu gives them a cleaner fit around short windows and month-end portfolio changes.