Index Options & Futures Trading - S&P 400 Mid
Cap
Stock Market Investing &
Trading System
S&P Mid Cap 400 index futures trading contracts are traded through
an auction-like process, with all bids and offers on each contract made
public. Through this, a prevailing market price is reached for each
contract, based primarily on the laws of supply and demand. This forum is
a useful - and essential - element in a free market economy. You might be
surprised to know that the futures markets are rarely used to actually buy
or sell the physical commodity or financial instrument being traded;
they're used for price estimation, risk management, and for some people,
investment and profit.
The S&P 400 index is an important
benchmark for many fund managers who invest in this segment. This index contains
solid firms with good track records that are simply not large enough to be
included in the much larger S&P 500 index.
S&P Mid Cap 400 Index Options Contracts & Futures Trading Contracts
|
Securities |
Issuer |
Type |
Symbol / Root |
|
S&P Midcap 400 |
CME |
Options on Futures |
MD |
|
S&P Midcap 400 |
CME |
Futures |
MD |
|
S&P Mid Cap 400 Index Options Contracts
Options are contracts in which
the terms of the contract are standardized and give the buyer the right,
but not the obligation, to buy or sell a particular asset (e.g., the
underlying stock) at a fixed price (the strike price) for a specific
period of time (until expiration). To the buyer, an equity call option
normally represents the right to buy 100 shares of underlying stock,
whereas an equity put option normally represents the right to sell 100
shares of underlying stock. The seller of an option is obligated to
perform according to the terms of the options contract-selling the stock
at the contracted price (the strike price) for a call seller, or
purchasing it for a put seller-if the option is exercised by the buyer.
All option contracts trade on U.S. securities exchanges are issued,
guaranteed and cleared by the
Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). OCC is a
registered clearing corporation with the SEC and has received 'AAA' credit
rating form Standard & Poor's Corporation. The 'AAA' credit rating
corresponds to OCC's ability to fulfill its obligations as counter-party
for options trades.
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