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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION:
The only stock exchange operating in the 19th century were those of Bombay set up in 1875 and
Ahmadabad set up in 1894. These were organized as voluntary non-profit making association of
brokers to regulate and protect their interests. Before the control on securities trading became a
central subject under the constitution in 1950, it was a state subject and the Bombay securities
contracts (control) Act of 1925 used to regulate trading in securities. Under this Act, The
Bombay stock exchange was recognized in 1927 and Ahmadabad in 1937.
During the war boom, a number of stock exchanges were organized even in Bombay,
Ahmadabad and other centers, but they were not recognized. Soon after it became a central
subject, central legislation was proposed and a committee headed by A.D.Gorwala went into the
bill for securities regulation. On the basis of the committee's recommendations and public
discussion, the securities contracts (regulation) Act became law in 1956.
2OBJECTIVES OF STUDY:
1. To study various trends in derivative market.
2. Comparison of the profits/losses in cash market and derivative market.
3. To find out profit/losses position of the option writer and option holder.
4. To study in detail the role of the future and options.
5. To study the role of derivatives in Indian financial market.
6. To study various trends in derivative market.
7. Comparison of the profits/losses in cash market and derivative market.
8. To find out profit/losses position of the option writer and option holder.
9. To study in detail the role of the future and options.
10. To study the role of derivatives in Indian financial market.
PRIMARY
The data, which is being collected for the time and it is the original data is this
project the primary data has been taken from IIFL staff and guide of the project.
SECONDARY
The secondary information is mostly from websites, books, journals, etc.
CHAPTER-2
INDUSTRY PROFILE
INDUSTRY PROFILE:
STOCK MARKET:
Indian stock market has shown dramatic changes last 4 to 5 years. As of 2004 march end, Indian
stock exchanges had over 9400 companies listed. Of course, the number of companies whose
shares are actively traded is smaller, around 800 at the NSE and 2600 at the BSE. Each company
may have multiple securities listed on an exchange. Thus, BSE has over 7200 listed securities, of
which over 2600 are traded. The market capitalization of all listed stocks now exceeds Rs. 13
Lakh crore. Total turnover-or the value of all sales and purchases – on the BSE and the NSE now
exceeds Rs. 50 lakh crore. As large number of indices are also available to fund managers. The
two leading market indices are NSE 50-shares (S&P CNX Nifty) index and BSE 30-share
(SENSEX) index. There are index funds that invest in the securities that form part of one or the
other index. Besides, in the derivatives market, the fund managers can buy or sell futures
contracts or options contracts on these indices. Both BSE and NSE also have other sect oral
indices that track the stocks of companies in specific industry groups-FMCG, IT, Finance,
Petrochemical and Pharmaceutical while the SENSEX and Nifty indices track large
capitalization stocks, BSE and NSE also have Mid cap indices tracking mid-size company
shares. The number of industries or sectors represented in various indices or in the listed
category exceeds50. BSE has 140 scrips in its specified group A list, which are basically large-
capitalization stocks. B 1 Group includes over 1100 stocks, many of which are mid-cap
companies. The rest of the B2 Group includes over 4500 shares, largely low-capitalization.
The base period for the index is Nov 4, 1996 which signifies 2 years for
completion of operations of the capital market segment of the operations. The base value of the
index has been set at 1000. Average daily turnover of the present scenario 258212 (laces) and
number of average daily trades 2160(laces).
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE):
This stock exchange, Mumbai, popularly known as “BSE” was established in
1875 as “The native share and stock brokers association”, as a voluntary non-profit making
association .It has evolved over the years into its present status as the premier stock exchange in
the country. It may be noted that the stock exchange is the oldest one in Asia, even older than the
Tokyo Stock Exchange, this was founded in 1878.
The Bombay Stock Exchange Limited is the oldest stock exchange in Asia and has
the greatest number of listed companies in the world, with 4700 listed as of August 2007.It is
located at Dalal Street, Mumbai, India. On 31 December 2007, the equity market capitalization
of the companies listed on the BSE was US$ 1.79 trillion, making it the largest stock exchange in
South Asia and the 12th largest in the world.
A governing board comprising of 9 elected directors, 2 SEBI nominees, 7
public representatives and an executive director is the apex body, which decides the policies and
regulates the affairs of the exchange.
BSE Indices:
In order to enable the market participants, analysts etc., to track the various ups and
downs in Indian stock market, the exchange had introduced in 1986 an equity stock index called
BSE-SENSEX that subsequently became the barometer of the moments of the share prices in the
Indian stock market. It is a “market capitalization -weighted” index of 30 component stocks
representing a sample of large, well established and leading companies. The base year of sensex
is 1978-79.
The Sensex is widely reported in both domestic and international markets
through print as well as electronic media. Sensex is calculated using a market capitalization
weighted
method. As per this methodology, the level of index reflects the total market value of all
30component stocks from different industries related to particular base period. The total value of
a company is determined by multiplying the price of its stock by the number of shares
outstanding.
Statisticians call an index of a set of combined variables (such as price number
of shares) Composite index. An Indexed number is used to represent the results of this
calculation in order to make the value easier to work with and track over a time. IT is much
easier to graph a chart base on indexed values then one based on actual values world over
majority of the well known indices are constructed using “Market capitalization weighted
method”. The divisor is only link to original base period value of the sensex.
New base year average = old base year average*(new market value/old market value)
OTC Equity Derivatives
Traditionally equity derivatives have a long history in India in the OTC market. Options of
various kinds (called Teji and Mandi and Fatak) in un-organized markets were traded as early as
1900 in Mumbai The SCRA however banned all kind of options in 1956.
BSE's and NSE’s plans
• Both the exchanges have set-up an in-house segment instead of setting up a separateexchange
for derivatives. BSE's Derivatives Segment, will start with Sensex futures as it's first product.
SE's Futures & Options Segment will be launched with Nifty futures as the first product.
Product Specifications BSE-30 Sensex Futures
• Contract Size - Rs.50 times the Index ick Size - 0.1 points or Rs.5 Expiry day - last Thursday of
the month
Settlement basis - cash settled
•
•
Contract cycle - 3 months
•
Active contracts - 3 nearest months
Product Specifications S&P CNX Nifty Futures
Contract Size - Rs. 200 times the Index Tick Size - 0.05 points or Rs. 10 Expiry day - last
Thursday of the month Settlement basis - cash settled Contract cycle - 3 months
Active contracts - 3 nearest months Membership
Membership for the new segment in both the exchanges is not automatic and has to be
separately applied for.
Membership is currently open on both the exchanges.
• All members will also have to be separately registered with SEBI before they can be
accepted. Membership Criteria NSE Clearing Member (CM)
Networth - 300 lakh
• Interest-Free Security Deposits - Rs. 25 lakh
• Collateral Security Deposit - Rs. 25 lakh In addition for every TM he wishes to
clear for the CM has to deposit Rs. 10 lakh. Trading Member (TM)
• Networth - Rs. 100 lakh
Interest-Free Security Deposit - Rs. 8 lakh Annual Subscription Fees - Rs. 1 lakh
BSE
Clearing Member (CM)
Networth - 300 lacs
Interest-Free Security Deposits - Rs. 25 lakh
Collateral Security Deposit - Rs. 25 lakh Non-refundable Deposit - Rs. 5 lakh
Annual Subscription Fees - Rs. 50 thousand In addition for every TM he wishes to
clear for the CM has to deposit Rs. 10 lakh with the following break-up.
Cash - Rs. 2.5 lakh Cash Equivalents - Rs. 25 lakh
Collateral Security Deposit - Rs. 5 lakh Trading Member (TM).
Networth - Rs. 50 lakh Non-refundable Deposit - Rs. 3 lakh
Annual Subscription Fees - Rs. 25 thousand The Non-refundable fees paid by the
members is exclusive and will be a total of Rs.8 lakhs if the member has both Clearing and
Trading rights. Trading Systems
NSE's Trading system for it's futures and options segment is called NEAT F&O. It is based on
the NEAT system for the cash segment. BSE's trading system for its derivatives segment is
called DTSS. It is built on a platform
different from the BOLT system though most of the features are common.
Certification Programmes
The NSE certification programme is called NCFM (NSE's Certification in Financial Markets).
NSE has outsourced training for this to various institutes around the country. The BSE
certification programme is called BCDE (BSE's Certification for the Derivatives Exchnage).
BSE conducts its own training run by it's training institute.
Both these programmes are approved by SEBI. Rules and Laws
Both the BSE and the NSE have been give in-principle approval on their rule and laws by
SEBI.
According to the SEBI chairman, the Gazette notification of the Bye-Laws after the final
approval is expected to be completed by May 2000.
14
COMPANY PROFILE:
Indianfoline
IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY. HONEY!
THE INDIA INFOLINE LIMITED
Origin:
India infoline Ltd., was founded in 1995 by a group of professional with impeccable
educational qualifications and professional credentials. Its institutional investors include Intel
Capital (world's) leading technology company, CDC (promoted by UK government), ICICI,
TDA and Reeshanar. ndia Infoline group offers the entire gamut of investment products
including stock broking, Commodities broking, Mutual Funds, Fixed Deposits, GOI Relief
bonds, Post office savings and life Insurance. India Infoline is the leading corporate agent of
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd., which is India' No. 1 Private sector life insurance
company. www.indiainfoline.com has been the only India Website to have been listed by none
other than Forbes in it's 'Best of the Web' survey of global website, not just once but three times
in a row and counting... “A must read for investors in south Asia” is how they choose to describe
India Infoline. It has been rated as No.1 the category of Business News in Asia by Alexia rating.
Stock and Commodities broking is offered under the trade name Spaisa. India Infoline
Commodities pvt Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of India Infoline Ltd., holds membership of
MCX and NCDEX
Main Objects of the Company Main objects as contained in its Memorandum or Association are:
1. To engage or undertake software and internet based services, data processing IT enabled
services, software development services, selling advertisement space on the site, web consulting
and related services including web designing and web maintenance, software product
development and marketing, software supply services, computer consultancy services,
ECommerce of all types including electronic financial intermediation business and E-broking,
market research, business and management consultancy.
2. To undertake, conduct, study, carry on, help, promote any kind of research, probe,
investigation, survey, developmental work on economy, industries, corporate business houses,
agricultural and mineral, financial institutions, foreign financial institutions, capital market on
matters related to investment decisions primary equity market, secondary equity market,
debentures, bond, ventures, capital funding proposals, competitive analysis, preparations of
corporate / industry profile etc. and trade / invest in researched securities VISION STATEMENT
OF THE COMPANY: "Our vision is to be the most respected company in the financial services
space In India". Products: the India Infoline pvt ltd offers the following products
A.E-broking. B. Distribution
C.Insurance D. PMS
E. Mortgages
A. E-Broking: It refers to Electronic Broking of Equities, Derivatives and Commodities under
the brand name of 5paisa 1. Equities 2. Derivatives
Commodities
B.Distribution:
1.Mutual funds
2.Govt of India bonds. Fixed deposits
3.C.Insurance:1.im
Life insurance policies
General Insurance.
Health Insurance Policies.
THE CORPORATE STRUCTURE
The India Infoline group comprises the holding company, India Infoline Ltd, which has 5
wholly-owned subsidiaries, engaged in distinct yet complementary businesses which together
offer a whole bouquet of products and services to make your money grow. The corporate
structure has evolved to comply with oddities of the regulatory framework but still beautifully
help attain synergy and allow flexibility to adapt to dynamics of different businesses. The parent
company, India Infoline Ltd owns and managers the web properties www.Indiainfoline.com and
www.5paisa.com. It also undertakes research Customized and offthe-shelf. Indian Infoline
Securities Pvt. Ltd. is a member of BSE, NSE and DP with NSDL. Its business
encompasses securities broking Portfolio Management services. India Infoline.com Distribution
Co. Ltd., Mobilizes Mutual Funds and other personal investment products such as bonds, fixed
deposits, etc. India Infoline Insurance Services Ltd. Is the corporate agent of ICICI Prudential
Life Insurance, engaged in selling Life Insurance, General Insurance and Health Insurance
products. India Infoline Commodities Pvt. Ltd. is a registered commodities broker MCX and
offers futures trading in commodities. India Infoline Investment Services Pvt Ltd., is proving
margin funding and NBFC services to the
customers of India Infoline Ltd.,
investment advice to customer in the form of daily research emails, online chat, printed reports
etc.
Benefits
> Free Depository A/C
> Instant Cash Transfer > Multiple Bank Option.
Secure Order by Voice Tool Dial-n-Trade.
>
Automated Portfolio to keep track of the value of your actual purchases.
> Personalized Price and Account Alerts delivered instantly to your Mobile Phone &
Email address.
> Special Personal Inbox for order and trade confirmations. > On-line Customer Service via
Web Chat. > Buy or sell even single share > Anytime Ordering.
INDIA INFOLINE offers the following products :-
Classic account
This is a User Friendly Product which allows the client to trade through website
www. India infoline.com and is suitable for the retail investors who is risk-averse and hence
prefers to invest in stocks or who does not trade too frequently. Features
• Online trading account for investing in Equity and Derivatives via
www. India in foline.com
• Live Terminal and Single terminal for NSE Cash, NSE F&O & BSE.
• Integration of On-line trading, Saving Bank and Demat Account
Instant cash transfer facility against purchase & sale of shares.
24
Introduction
A Derivative is a financial instrument that derives its value from an
underlying asset. Derivative is an financial contract whose price/value is dependent upon price of
one or more basic underlying asset, these contracts are legally binding agreements made on
trading screens of stock exchanges to buy or sell an asset in the future. The most commonly used
derivatives contracts are forwards, futures and options, which we shall discuss in detail later.
The emergence of the market for derivative products, most notably forwards,
futures and options, can be traced back to the willingness of risk-averse economic agents to
guard themselves against uncertainties arising out of fluctuations in asset prices. By their very
nature, the financial markets are marked by a very high degree of volatility. Through the use of
derivative products, it is possible to partially or fully transfer price risks by locking-in asset
prices. As instruments of risk management, these generally do not influence the fluctuations in
the underlying asset prices. However, by locking-in asset prices, derivative products minimize
the impact of fluctuations in asset prices on the profitability and cash flow situation of riskaverse
investors.
Derivative products initially emerged, as hedging devices against
fluctuations in Commodity prices and commodity-linked derivatives remained the sole form of
such products for almost three hundred years. The financial derivatives came into spotlight in
post-1970 period due to growing instability in the financial markets. However, since their
emergence, these products have become very popular and by 1990s, they accounted for about
two-thirds of total transactions in derivative products. In recent years, the market for financial
derivatives has grown tremendously both in terms of variety of instruments available, their
complexity and also turnover. In the class of equity derivatives, futures and options on stock
indices have gained more popularity than on individual stocks, especially among institutional
investors, who are
27
major users of index-linked derivatives. Even small investors find these useful due to high
correlation of the popular indices with various portfolios and ease of use. The lower costs
associated with index derivatives vie derivative products based on individual securities is another
reason for their growing use.
The main objective of the study is to analyze the derivatives market in India
and to analyze the operations of futures and options. Analysis is to evaluate the profit/loss
position futures and options. Derivates market is an innovation to cash market. Approximately its
daily turnover reaches to the equal stage of cash market
In cash market the profit/loss of the investor depend the market price of the underlying
asset. Derivatives are mostly used for hedging purpose. In bullish market the call option writer
incurs more losses so the investor is suggested to go for a call option to hold, where as the put
option holder suffers in a bullish market, so he is suggested to write a put option. In bearish
market the call option holder will incur more losses so the investor is suggested to go for a call
option to write, where as the put option writer will get more losses, so he is suggested to hold a
put option.
Initially derivatives was launched in America called Chicago. Then in 1999,
RBI introduced derivatives in the local currency Interest Rate markets, which have not really
developed, but with the gradual acceptance of the ALM guidelines by banks, there should be an
instrumental product in hedging their balance sheet liabilities.
The first product which was launched by BSE and NSE in the derivatives market
was index futures The following factors have been driving the growth of financial derivatives:
1. Increased volatility in asset prices in financial markets, 2. Increased integration of national
financial markets with the international markets, 3. Marked improvement in communication
facilities and sharp decline in their costs, 4. Development of more sophisticated risk management
tools, providing economic
agents a wider choice of risk management strategies, and 5. Innovations in the derivatives
markets, which optimally combine the risks and
returns over a large number of financial assets, leading to higher returns, reduced risk as well as
trans-actions costs as compared to individual financial assets.
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Derivatives defined
Derivative is a product whose value is derived from the value of one or more
basic variables, called bases (underlying asset, index, or reference rate), in a contractual manner.
The underlying asset can be equity, forex, commodity or any other asset. For example, wheat
farmers may wish to sell their harvest at a future date to eliminate the risk of a change in prices
by that date. Such a transaction is an example of a derivative.
The price of this derivative is driven by the spot price of wheat which is the
"underlying”. In the Indian context the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (SC(R) A)
defines “equity derivative” to include -
1. A security derived from a debt instrument, share, loan whether secured or
unsecured, risk instrument or contract for differences or any other form of security.
2. A contract, which derives its value from the prices, or index of prices, of
underlying securities.
Derivatives is derived from the following products:
A. Shares
B. Debuntures C. Mutual funds
D. Gold
E. Steel
F. Interest rate
G. Currencies.
DEFINATIONS
Swaptions are options to buy or sell a swap that will become operative at the expiry of
the options. Thus a Swaptions is an option on a forward swap.
PARTICIPANTS IN THE DERIVATIVES MARKET:
The following three broad categories of participants in the derivatives market.
HEDGERS:
Hedgers face risk associated with the price of an asset. They use futures or options
markets to reduce or eliminate this risk.
SPECULATORS:
Speculators wish to bet on future movements in the price of an asset. Futures and
options contracts can give them an extra leverage; that is, they can increase both the potential
gains and potential losses in a speculative venture.
ARBITRAGEURS:
Arbitrageurs are in business to take advantage of a discrepancy between prices in two
different markets. If, for example, they see the futures price of an asset getting out of line with
the cash price, they will take offsetting positions in the two markets to lock in a profit.
ANY EXCHANGE FULFILLING THE DERIVATIVE SEGMENT AT NATIONAL
STOCK EXCHANGE:
32
The derivatives segment on the exchange commenced with S&P CNX Nifty
Index futures on June 12, 2000. The F&O segment of NSE provides trading facilities for the
following derivative segment:
1. Index Based Futures
2. Index Based Options 3. Individual Stock Options
4. Individual Stock Futures
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK:
The trading of derivatives is governed by the provisions contained in the SC (R) A,
the SEBI Act and the regulations framed there under the rules and byelaws of stock exchanges.
Regulation for Derivative Trading:
SEBI set up a 24 member committed under Chairmanship of Dr.L.C.Gupta develop
the appropriate regulatory framework for derivative trading in India. The committee submitted
its report in March 1998. On May 11, 1998 SEBI accepted the recommendations of the
committee and approved the phased introduction of Derivatives trading in India beginning with
Stock Index Futures. SEBI also approved he “Suggestive bye-laws" recommended by the
committee for regulation and control of trading and settlement of Derivatives contracts.
The provisions in the SC (R) A govern the trading in the securities. The
amendment of the SC (R) A to include “DERIVATIVES” within the am bit of Securities' in the
SC (R) A made trading in Derivatives possible within the framework of the Act.
1. Eligibility criteria as prescribed in the L.C. Gupta committee report may apply to SEBI
for grant of recognition under Section 4 of the SC ( R ) A, 1956 to start Derivatives Trading. The
derivatives exchange/segment should have a separate governing council
33
and representation of trading / clearing members shall be limited to maximum of 40% of the
total members of the governing council. The exchange shall regulate the sales practices of its
members and will obtain approval of SEBI before start of Trading in any derivative contract.
2. The exchange shall have minimum 50 members.
3. The members of an existing segment of the exchange will not automatically become the
members of the derivative segment. The members of the derivative segment need to
fulfill the eligibility conditions as lay down by the L.C.Gupta Committee. 4. The clearing
and settlement of derivates trades shall be through a SEBI
approved Clearing Corporation / Clearing house. Clearing Corporation / Clearing House
complying with the eligibility conditions as lay down By the committee have to apply to SEBI
for grant of approval.
5. Derivatives broker/dealers and Clearing members are required to seek registration from
SEBI.
6. The Minimum contract value shall not be less than Rs.2 Lakh. Exchanges should also
submit details of the futures contract they purpose to introduce.
7. The trading members are required to have qualified approved user and sales person who
have passed a certification programmed approved by SE
INTRODUCTION TO FUTURE MARKET:
Futures markets were designed to solve the problems that exit in forward markets.
A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a certain time in
the future at a certain price. There is a multilateral contract between the buyer and seller for a
34
underlying asset which may be financial instrument or physical commodities. But unlike forward
contracts the future contracts are standardized and exchange traded.
PURPOSE:
The primary purpose of futures market is to provide an efficient and effective
mechanism for management of inherent risks, without counter-party risk. The future contracts
are affected
mainly by the prices of the underlying asset. As it is a future contract the buyer and seller has to
pay the margin to trade in the futures market.
It is essential that both the parties compulsorily discharge their respective obligations on the
settlement day only, even though the payoffs are on a daily marking to market basis to avoid
default risk. Hence, the gains or losses are netted off on a daily basis and each morning starts
with a fresh opening value. Here both the parties face an equal amount of risk and are also
required to pay upfront margins to the exchange irrespective of whether they are buyers or
sellers. Index based financial futures are settled in cash unlike futures on individual stocks which
are very rare and yet to be launched even in the US. Most of the financial futures worldwide are
index based and hence the buyer never comes to know who the seller is, both due to the presence
of the clearing corporation of the stock exchange in between and also due to secrecy reasons
EXAMPLE:
The current market price of INFOSYS COMPANY is Rs.1650. There are two
parties in the contract i.e. Hitesh and Kishore. Hitesh is bullish and kishore is bearish in the
market. The initial margin is 10%. paid by the both parties. Here the Hitesh has purchased the
one month contract of INFOSYS futures with the price of Rs. 1650. The lot size of Infosys is 300
shares.
Suppose the stock rises to 2200. Unlimited profit for the buyer (Hitesh) =
Rs.1,65,000 [(2200-1650*300)] and notional profit for the buyer is 500. Unlimited loss for the
buyer because the buyer is bearish in the market
Suppose the stock falls to Rs. 1400 Unlimited profit for the seller =
Rs.75,000.[(1650-1400*300)] and notional profit for the seller is
250.
Unlimited loss for the seller because the seller is bullish in the market.
Finally, Futures contracts try to "bet" what the value of an index or commodity
will be at some date in the future. Futures are often used by mutual funds and large institutions to
hedge their positions when the markets are rocky. Also, Futures contracts offer a high degree of
leverage, or the ability to control a sizable amount of an asset for a cash outlay, which is distantly
small in proportion to the total value of contract.
DEFINITION
A Futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a
certain time in the future at a certain price. To facilitate liquidity in the futures contract, the
exchange specifies certain standard features of the contract. The standardized items on a futures
contract
are:
Quantity of the underlying
•
Quality of the underlying
The date and the month of delivery
The units of price quotations and minimum price change
• Locations of settlement
Types of futures:
On the basis of the underlying asset they derive, the futures are divided into two types:
* Stock futures:
The stock futures are the futures that have the underlying asset as the individual
securities. The settlement of the stock futures is of cash settlement and the settlement price of the
future is the closing price of the underlying security.
36
* Index futures:
Index futures are the futures, which have the underlying asset as an Index. The Index
futures are also cash settled. The settlement price of the Index futures shall be the closing value
of the underlying index on the expiry date of the contract.
STOCK INDEX FUTURES
Stock Index futures are the most popular financial futures, which
have been used to hedge or manage the systematic risk by the investors of Stock Market. They
are called hedgers who own portfolio of securities and are exposed to the systematic risk. Stock
Index is the apt hedging asset since the rise or fall due to systematic risk is accurately shown in
the Stock Index. Stock index futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specified amount of
an underlying stock index traded on a regulated futures exchange for a specified price for
settlement
at a specified time future.
Stock index futures will require lower capital adequacy and margin
requirements as compared to margins on carry forward of individual scrips. The brokerage costs
on index futures will be much lower.
Savings in cost is possible through reduced bid-ask spreads where
stocks are traded in packaged forms. The impact cost will be much lower in case of stock index
futures as opposed to dealing in individual scrips. The market is conditioned to think in terms of
the index and therefore would prefer to trade in stock index futures. Further, the chances of
manipulation
are much lesser.
The Stock index futures are expected to be extremely liquid given the
speculative nature of our markets and the overwhelming retail participation expected to be fairly
high. In the near future, stock index futures will definitely see incredible volumes in India. It will
be a blockbuster product and is pitched to become the most liquid contract in the world in terms
of number of contracts traded if not in terms of notional value. The advantage to the equity or
cash market is in the fact that they would become less volatile as most of the speculative activity
would shift to stock index futures. The stock index futures market should ideally have more
depth, volumes and act as a stabilizing factor for the cash market. However, it is too early to base
any conclusions on the volume or to form any firm trend.
37
The difference between stock index futures and most other financial
futures contracts is that settlement is made at the value of the index at maturity of the contract.
Futures terminology :-
a) Spot price : The price at which an asset trades in the spot market b) Futures price : The price
at which the futures contract trades in the futures
market. c) Contract cycle : The period over which a contract trades. The index futures
contracts on the NSE have one-month, two-month and three-months expiry cycles which expire
on the last Thursday of the month. Thus a January expiration contract expires on the last
Thursday of January and a February expiration contract trading on the last Thursday of February.
On the Friday following the last
Thursday, a new contract having a three-month expiry is introduced for trading. d) Expiry date :
It is the date specified in the futures contract. This is the last day on
which the contract will be traded, at the end of which it will cease to exist. e) Contract size: The
amount of asset that has to be delivered under one contract.
For instance, the contract size on NSE's futures market is 200 Nifties. 1) Basis :In the
context of financial futures, basis can be defined as the futures price
minus the spot price. There will be a different basis for each delivery month for each contract. In
a normal market, basis will be positive. This reflects that futures
prices normally exceed spot prices. g) Cost of carry: The relationship between futures
prices and spot prices can be
summarized in terms of what is known as the cost of carry. This measures the storage cost plus
the interest that is paid to finance the asset less the income
earned on the asset. h) Margin: Margin is money deposited by the buyer and the seller to
ensure the
integrity of the contract. Normally the margin requirement has been designed on the concept of
VAR at 99% levels. Based on the value at risk of the stock/index
38
margins are calculated. In general margin ranges between 10-50% of the contract
value.
i) Initial margin: The amount that must be deposited in the margin account at the
time a futures contract is first entered into is known as initial margin. Both buyer and seller are
required to make security deposits that are intended to guarantee that they will infact be able to
fulfill their obligation. These deposits are Initial
margins and they are often referred as performance margins. The amount of
margin is roughly 5% to 15% of total purchase price of futures contract i) Marking-to-market : In
the futures market, at the end of each trading day, the
margin account is adjusted to reflect the investor's gain or loss depending upon
the futures closing price. This is called marking-to-market. k) Maintenance margin: This is
somewhat lower than the initial margin. This is set
to ensure that the balance in the margin account never becomes negative. If the balance in the
margin account falls below the maintenance margin, the investor receives a margin call and is
expected to top up the margin account to the initial
margin level before trading commences on the next day.
PARTIES IN THE FUTURES CONTRACT:
There are two parties in a future contract, the Buyer and the Seller. The buyer of the
futures contract is one who is LONG on the futures contract and the seller of the futures contract
is one who is SHORT on the futures contract.
The pay off for the buyer and the seller of the futures contract are as follows.
Pay off for futures:
A Pay off is the likely profit/loss that would accrue to a market participant with
change in the price of the underlying asset. Futures contracts have linear payoffs. In simple
words, it means that the losses as well as profits, for the buyer and the seller of futures contracts,
are unlimited.
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f) Put option: A put option gives the holder the right but not the obligation to sell an asset
by a certain date for a certain price. g) Option price: Option price is the price which the
option buyer pays to the option
seller. h) Expiration date: The date specified in the options contract is known as the
expiration date, the exercise date, the strike date or the maturity. i)
Strike price: The price specified in the options contract is known as the strike price
or the exercise price. j) American options: American options are options that can be exercised at
any time
Up to the expiration date. Most exchange-traded options are
American. k) European options: European options are options that can be exercised only on the
expiration date itself. European options are easier to analyze than American options, and
properties of an American option are frequently
deduced from those of its European counterpart. 1) In-the-money option: An in-the-money
(ITM) option is an option that would lead to a positive cash flow to the holder if it were
exercised immediately. A call option on the index is said to be in-the-money when the current
index stands at a level higher than the strike price (i.e. spot price > strike price). If the index is
much higher than the strike price, the call is said to be deep ITM. In the case of a put, the put is
ITM if the index is below the strike price.
m) At-the-money option: An at-the-money (ATM) option is an option that would lead to
zero cashflow if it were exercised immediately. An option on the index is at-them oney
when the current index equals the strike price (i.e. spot price = strike price). _
n) Out-of-the-money option: An out-of-the-money (OTM) option is an option that would
lead to a negative cash flow it were exercised immediately. A call option on the index is out-of-
the-money when the current index stands at a level which is less than the strike price (i.e. spot
price <strike price). If the index is much lower than the strike price, the call is said to be deep
OTM. In the case of a put, the put is OTM if the index is above the strike price.
o) Intrinsic value of an option: The option premium can be broken down into two
components - intrinsic value and time value. The intrinsic value of a call is the amount the
option is ITM, if it is ITM. If the call is OTM, its intrinsic value is zero. Putting it another way,
the intrinsic value of a call is N.P which means the intrinsic value of a call is Max [0, (St – K)]
which means the intrinsic value of a call is the (StK). Similarly, the intrinsic value of a put is
Max [0, (K -St)] ,i.e. the greater of 0 or (K - St). K is the strike price and St is the spot price.
P) Time value of an option: The time value of an option is the difference between its
premium and its intrinsic value. A call that is OTM or ATM has only time value. Usually, the
maximum time value exists when the option is ATM. The longer the time to expiration, the
greater is a call's time value, all else equal. At expiration, a call should have no time value.
TYPES OF OPTION:
> CALL OPTION
A call option gives the holder (buyer/ one who is long call), the right to buy
specified quantity of the underlying asset at the strike price on or before expiration date. The
seller (one who is short call) however, has the obligation to sell the underlying asset if the buyer
of the call option decides to exercise his option to buy. To acquire this right the buyer pays a
premium to the writer (seller) of the contract.
Illustration
Suppose in this option there are two parties one is Mahesh (call buyer) who is
bullish in the market and other is Rakesh (call seller) who is bearish in the market.
The current market price of RELIANCE COMPANY is Rs.600 and premium is Rs.25
1) Call buyer
Here the Mahesh has purchase the call option with a strike price of Rs.600. The option will be
excerised once the price went above 600. The premium paid by the buyer is Rs.25. The buyer
will earn profit once the share price crossed to Rs.625(strike price + premium). Suppose
the stock has crossed Rs.660 the option will be exercised the buyer will purchase the
RELIANCE scrip from the seller at Rs.600 and sell in the market at Rs.660.
Unlimited profit for the buyer = Rs.35{(spot price – strike price) – premium } Limited loss for
the buyer up to the premium paid.
2) Call seller:
In another scenario, if at the tie of expiry stock price falls below Rs. 600 say suppose
the stock price fall to Rs.550 the buyer will choose not to exercise the option.
Profit for the Seller limited to the premium received = Rs.25
Loss unlimited for the seller if price touches above 600 say 630 then the loss of Rs.30
Finally the stock price goes to Rs.610 the buyer will not exercise the option because he has the
lost the premium of Rs. 25.So he will buy the share from the seller at Rs.610.
Thus from the above example it shows that option contracts are formed so to avoid
the unlimited losses and have limited losses to the certain extent
Thus call option indicates two positions as follows:
V LONG POSITION
If the investor expects price to rise i.e. bullish in the market he takes a long
position by buying call option.
V SHORT POSITION
If the investor expects price to fall i.e. bearish in the market he takes a short
position by selling call option.
> PUT OPTION
A Put option gives the holder (buyer/ one who is long Put), the right to sell
specified quantity of the underlying asset at the strike price on or before a expiry date. The seller
of the put
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option (one who is short Put) however, has the obligation to buy the underlying asset at the strike
price if the buyer decides to exercise his option to sell.
Illustration
Suppose in this option there are two parties one is Dinesh (put buyer) who is bearish in
the market and other is Amit(put seller) who is bullish in the market. The current market price of
TISCO COMPANY is Rs.800 and premium is Rs.2 0
1) Put buyer(dinesh)
Here the Dinesh has purchase the put option with a strike price of Rs.800. The
option will be excerised once the price went below 800. The premium paid by the buyer is Rs.
20. The buyer's breakeven point is Rs. 780(Strike price - Premium paid). The buyer will earn
profit once the share price crossed below to Rs.780. Suppose the stock has crossed Rs.700 the
option will be exercised the buyer will purchase the RELIANCE scrip from the market at
Rs.700and sell to the seller at Rs.800
Unlimited profit for the buyer = Rs.80 {(Strike price – spot price) – premium } Loss limited for
the buyer up to the premium paid = 20
2) put seller (Amit):
In another scenario, if at the time of expiry, market price of TISCO is Rs. 900. the
buyer of the Put option will choose not to exercise his option to sell as he can sell in the market
at a higher rate.
Unlimited loses for the seller if stock price below 780 say 750 then unlimited losses for the
seller because the seller is bullish in the market = 780 - 750 = 30
Limited profit for the seller up to the premium received = 20
Thus Put option also indicates two positions as follows:
V LONG POSITION
If the investor expects price to fall i.e. bearish in the market he takes a long position by
buying Put option.
SHORT POSITION
If the investor expects price to rise i.e. bullish in the market he takes a short position by
selling Put option
FACTORS AFFECTING OPTION PREMIUM:
+ Price of the underlying asset: (S)
Changes in the underlying asset price can increase or decrease the premium of an
option. These price changes have opposite effects on calls and puts. For instance, as the price of
the underlying asset rises, the premium of a call will increase and the premium of a put will
decrease. A decrease in the price of the underlying asset's value will generally have the opposite
effect
+ Strike price: (k)
The strike price determines whether or not an option has any intrinsic value. An
option's premium generally increases as the option gets further in the money, and decreases as
the option becomes more deeply out of the money.
+ Time until expiration: (1)
An expiration approaches, the level of an option's time value, for puts and calls,
decreases.
+ Volatility:
Volatility is simply a measure of risk (uncertainty), or variability of an option's
underlying. Higher volatility estimates reflect greater expected fluctuations (in either direction)
in underlying price levels. This expectation generally results in higher option premiums for puts
and calls alike, and is most noticeable with at- the-money options.
It costs nothing to enter into a futures contract whereas there is a cost of entering into an
options contract, termed as Premium.
Strike price:
In the Futures contract the strike price moves while in the option contract the strike price
remains constant.
Liquidity:
As Futures contract are more popular as compared to options. Also the premium charged is
high in the options. So there is a limited Liquidity in the options as compared to Futures. There is
no dedicated trading and investors in the options contract.
Price behavior:
The trading in future contract is one-dimensional as the price of future depends upon the
price of the underlying only. While trading in option is two-dimensional as the price of the
option depends upon the price and volatility of the underlying.
Pay off:
As options contract are less active as compared to futures which results into non linear pay
off. hile futures are more active has linear pay off.
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