FUTURES trading remained very light as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. Futures led the cash market for most of the day but activity was very quiet as most attention was on the options market. November contracts closed 47 points higher at 9,372, while total futures volume was 7,753 contracts worth $1.75 billion. The market opened lower as expected following losses on Wall Street on Friday but soon moved back up above the 9,300 level where it stayed for the whole day. Futures traded at a discount to the cash market for most of the day although they did lead the market up in the late afternoon rally. Credit Lyonnais was seen as one of the major buyers. Options market activity was heavy with 3,231 contracts traded. According to W I Carr, major trades included a 100 times buying of December 9,600 calls, a 375 times selling of December 86,090 puts and a 375 times buying of December 10,000 calls. In addition, 147 December 9,800 calls and 480 December 10,400 calls were traded. For OTC options the volatilities were 27.5 per cent for September 95 and 28 per cent for December 95 options.
