Active afternoon for futures

Press, 29 January 1988, Page 21

Active afternoon for futures

Trading in the Barclays, share index futures contract was dead yesterday morning, with the contract softer from Wednesday’s close. However, after the announcement by the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, that the economic package announced in December would not be implemented as soon as thought, the market recovered. The March BSI contract closed 24 points off at 1766, after trading in a 50 point range between 1790 and 1740. There were 81 lots traded for the day. An Auckland broker said investors saw Mr Lange’s announcement as good for the sharemarket in the short term. The move will mean a delay in the introduction of

full imputation. The announcement sparked much interest in Government Stock futures. The contract ran up strongly in the morning but there was a major collapse in the afternoon. The March GSK contract closed 26 points easier at 8547, after being 9 points higher at 8582 at one stage in the day. At the close it was 2 points above its high for the day. Volume was heavy at 2172. In Sydney, March share price index futures were lower at 1260 after opening at 1263 from 1279 on Wednesday. About 534 lots were exchanged. SUS CONTRACTS Mth Open H/L Last Vol Contracts traded: nil.

Open positions at January 27: Feb 11, Mar 43, total 54 (down 2). COMMERCIAL BILLS Mth Open H/L Last Vol Contracts traded: nil. Open positions at January 27: Mar 1, Jun 10, total 11 (same). GOVERNMENT STOCK Mth Open H/L Last Vol Mar 8579 582/545 547 2094 Jun 8605 610/585 585 78 Contracts traded: 2172. Open positions at January 27: Mar 1777, Jun 160, Sep 119, total 2056 (up 81). WOOL Mth Open H/L Last Vol Jan 625 625/625 625 2 Mar 614 614/610 613 11 May 630 630/630 630 7 Contracts traded: 20. Open positions at January 27: Jan 9, Mar 302, May 310, Aug 54, Oct 25, Dec 26, total 726 (down 4).

90-DAY BANK BILLS Mth Open H/L Last Vol Feb 8335 340/302 8302 241 Mar 8350 362/306 8310 243 Apr 8415 415/385 8385 25 Contracts traded: 509 Open positions at January 27: Feb 500, Mar 742, Apr 66, Jun 223, Sep 191, Dec 181, Mar 31, Jun 17, Sep 5. total 1956 (up 137). SYDNEY ALL-ORDS (half-points omitted) Prev. Mth close H/L Last Vol Mar 1279 268/245 260 534 Contracts traded: 534. Open positions at January 27: 4530 (down 49). BARCLAY’S SHARE INDEX Mth Open H/L Last Vol Mar 1790 790/740 1766 80 Jun 1805 805/805 1805 I Contracts traded: 81 Open positions at January 27: Mar 303, Jun 5, Sep 52, total 360 (up 29).