Stock Baskets OKd: The Securities and Exchange...

Stock Baskets OKd: The Securities and Exchange Commission approved plans by the New York Stock Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange to begin trading “stock baskets.” The NYSE product, called the Exchange Stock Portfolio, will allow institutional investors, but not individuals, to trade $5-million blocks of stocks reflecting Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index. The Chicago product, also limited to institutional investors, will permit trading in $1.6-million baskets based on the S&P; 100 index and $1.73-million baskets based on the S&P; 500 index. The products were recommended in the wake of the October, 1987, stock market crash as a means of reducing volatility in the markets.