HKEX rolls out five weekly stock options and a Hang Seng Biotech futures contract as derivatives boom continues

HKEX said the weekly options, covering CNOOC, China Mobile, AIA Group, Xiaomi and SMIC, will begin trading on November 10, offering investors lower-premium, time-specific hedges for event-driven risk, while the Hang Seng Biotech Index futures are scheduled to debut on November 28 to give market participants a single-contract way to express sector views and hedge biotech exposure. The additions follow a steady expansion of short-dated and sector-focused derivative products on the exchange.

Derivatives volumes at HKEX have been rising: average daily turnover of equity-derivative contracts was up year on year through the first nine months of 2025, and exchange executives say the new products respond to investor demand for more precise risk-management tools amid active equity and IPO markets. Market makers and institutional desks will play a key role in providing liquidity for these shorter-dated series.

The biotech futures contract is notable for Hong Kong’s growing role as a biotech capital market hub; by offering a futures vehicle tied to a biotech index, HKEX gives portfolio managers and hedgers an efficient instrument to manage sector exposures that can be volatile around trial readouts and regulatory news. If uptake is strong, the new contracts could deepen Hong Kong’s derivatives ecosystem and attract more event-driven and institutional flow into the exchange.