What do the terms American-style and European-style mean when referring to options?
An American-style option may be exercised at any time prior to its expiration. A European-style option may be exercised only during a specified period before the option expires. Currently, every European-style option is exercisable only on its expiration date. Currently, all exchange-traded equity options are American-style. Most index options are European-style. I would check each index product that you are interested on trading to verify, among other things, the options exercise style. The OIC has compiled a list of index options (XLS) that are currently available along with a link to the product specifications for each item on the list.
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