Investors have piled into the options market for protection against any future fall in shares in German companies seen vulnerable to tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Data from the Eurex exchange's website showed a rise over the last month in the ratio between "put" options betting on a fall on Germany's DAX equity index, which hit a record high in January, and "call" options betting on a rise.
The put/call ratio on DAX options due to mature in March rose to 3.13 at the start of March from 1.47 in early February. For options due to mature in April it increased over the last week to 1.60 from 1.35, highlighting a rise in demand for protection against a fall in the market next month.
"Demand for downside protection on the DAX has gone up as a result of the situation in Ukraine," said Delphine Leblond-Limpalaer, equity derivatives specialist at Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking. The DAX rose 25.5 percent last year and hit a record high of 9,794.05 points in late January, but has since fallen some 2 percent, with worries over Ukraine and Russia weighing on the index this week.
Comments
Comments are closed.