CME Group credit futures hit volume and open interest milestones

CHICAGO - CME Group (market cap: $94 billion), a derivatives marketplace with strong financial health according to InvestingPro analysis, announced Monday that trading volume in its investment grade and high yield credit futures has surpassed 450,000 contracts, while open interest reached 6,800 contracts representing over $700 million in notional value as of September 4.

The credit futures contracts, launched in June 2024, are based on Bloomberg U.S. corporate bond indexes and allow investors to manage exposure in the fixed income market. A key feature of these contracts is their ability to help market participants manage duration risk through an intercommodity spread with U.S. Treasury futures. The company’s robust 11.14% revenue growth and maintained dividend payments for 23 consecutive years demonstrate its strong market position.

"With U.S. credit spreads near historic lows, clients are looking for new sources of liquidity to help them mitigate credit risk with precision and efficiency," said Agha Mirza, CME Group Global Head of Rates and OTC Products, in a press release statement.

The contracts offer automatic margin offsets against CME Group’s interest rate and equity futures, which the company states are part of the $60 billion in daily efficiencies it delivers to clients across asset classes.

Matthew Angelucci, Portfolio Manager at PGIM Fixed Income, noted that the futures provide "an efficient and flexible tool for managing risk in corporate bonds," allowing clients to isolate credit and duration risk.

The credit futures are available to trade on CME Globex and eligible for submission to clearing via CME ClearPort. They are listed with, and subject to, the rules of CBOT.

CME Group operates as the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, enabling clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets across major asset classes including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers an attractive 4.12% dividend yield and has raised dividends for 6 consecutive years. According to InvestingPro, which provides comprehensive analysis of 1,400+ stocks, CME Group is currently trading near its Fair Value, with multiple additional insights available to subscribers.

In other recent news, CME Group reported its second-highest August average daily volume of 28.1 million contracts. This follows an August record set in 2024 with 31.7 million contracts. The company also achieved a record monthly average daily volume in cryptocurrency products, reaching 411,000 contracts with a notional value of $14.9 billion. CME Group and FanDuel announced a partnership to develop event-based trading contracts aimed at retail investors, covering benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. These products are expected to launch later this year, pending regulatory review. Additionally, CME Group declared a third-quarter dividend of $1.25 per share, payable on September 25, 2025. In analyst updates, UBS downgraded CME Group from Buy to Neutral, citing tough comparisons ahead. Conversely, Raymond James raised its price target for CME Group to $309 while maintaining an Outperform rating, highlighting the company’s strong outlook amid global macroeconomic uncertainty.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.