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| Edited By: |Source: PTI |Updated: Mar 18, 2018, 05:20 AM IST
The National Stock Exchange today announced that it has received regulatory approval to start trading in futures and options contracts based on FTSE 100 or Financial Times Stock Exchange index.
The product will be launching on May 3.
Indian investors will gain access to the UK equity market for the first time through the new rupee-denominated derivative contracts based on one of FTSE's headline indices, NSE said in a statement here.
FTSE Group, the global index provider and the National Stock Exchange had earlier entered into a partnership, resulting in the licensing of the world renowned FTSE 100 Index for the introduction of futures and options contracts.
The new contracts will be tradable by all equity derivatives members of the NSE through existing infrastructure with no additional investment required, it said.
The introduction of derivative products on the FTSE 100 index will enable investors to hedge and gain exposure to the top 100 constituents listed on the main market of London Stock Exchange (by market capitalisation).
Ravi Narain, Managing Director and CEO of NSE said that "NSE is committed to providing its investors with a range of products and asset classes. The FTSE 100 Index, will help Indian investors to diversify their portfolios further and have access to one of the world's widely tracked equity indices, whilst minimizing currency risk."
FTSE India Managing Director Rohtas Handa said, "We are committed to provide Indian investors with robust and reliable investment tools for a range of investment opportunities covering Indian and global markets."
The FTSE 100 index accounts for over 80 percent of the UK's equity market capitalisation, forming the basis of a range of investment products, including over 30 ETF listings. It is widely used by a range of investment professionals for investment analysis, performance measurement, asset allocation, portfolio hedging and the creation of a variety of financial products globally.
The National Stock exchange is the third largest exchange in the world in terms of equity trading volume and the fifth largest derivatives exchange, globally.
