The CBOE, one of the world’s largest options exchanges, is pushing back the reopening of its Chicago trading floor by a week amid downtown disruption.
The trading floor, which has been closed since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled to reopen June 15 as the city deals with fallout over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
“The decision to postpone the reopening is in light of closures across the city of Chicago and limited access to the area surrounding the CBOE building,” the exchange said in a news release Wednesday. “CBOE is continuing to monitor the situation closely.”
A CBOE spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
The CBOE trading floor was previously set to reopen Monday, with a number of changes in place to minimize the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Traders will be screened for fever at entrances, required to wear masks and must observe six feet of social distancing — a far cry from the boisterous, old school trading pits that built the exchange.
The exchange’s trading floor at 400 S. LaSalle St. has been enlarged and reconfigured and new capacity limits have been put in place, with about half the traders expected to return under the new guidelines.
The CBOE switched to electronic-only trading when the floor closed March 16. It will revert to a hybrid model of open outcry and electronic trading when it reopens.