Ashton Technology Group (fka ASTN)

[sarals]

PHILADELPHIA STOCK EXCHANGE CONTINUES TO SET RECORD VOLUME
For more information, contact: Heidi Van Vooren at 215-496-6483 or [e-mail]

PHILADELPHIA July 3, 2001-The Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) announced today that it set record high equity options volume for June 2001 when a reported 7,374,506 contracts traded. This represents a 52 % increase over the same month last year when 4,856,628 contracts traded.

Equity options volume for the first half of 2001 also reached record highs when 54,480,672 contracts traded, a 92 % increase over last year when 28,300,085 contracts traded.

Equity trading volume for the first half of 2001 topped one billion shares traded. The PHLX currently trades nearly 2,200 equities.

Volume for June in the PHLX's ten sectors index options reached 434,724 contracts traded, a 54% increase over the same month last year when 282,144 contracts traded. In addition, sectors index options trading volume for the first half of 2001 reached a record high of 2,509,007 contracts traded, an increase of 34 % over the same year ago period when 1,872,653 contracts traded.

PHLX currently lists options on ten sectors: KBW Bank Sector (BKX); Computer Box Maker Sector (BMX); Forest and Paper Products Sector (FPP); Gold/Silver Sector (XAU); Oil Service Sector (OSX); OTC Prime Sector (OTX); The Street.com Internet Sector (DOT); Semiconductor Sector (SOX); Utility Sector (UTY); and Wireless Telecom Sector (YLS).

Volume in the PHLX's customized and standardized currency options reached 48,661 contracts traded for the month of June. This represents a 217% increase over the same month last year when 15,326 contracts traded. Volume for the first half of 2001 reached 238,827 contracts traded for an underlying value of approximately $11 billion.

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange is home to the largest, best-capitalized trading firms in the global derivatives market. Supported by advanced trading technology, the Exchange's market share has almost doubled year-over-year in the PHLX's 1,021 listed equity options and 10 sector index options. For more information about the PHLX and its products, including more than 2,200 stocks and currency pairs, visit www.phlx.com.

http://www.phlx.com/news/pr2001/01pr0703.html