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Mechanics of Futures Markets Chapter 2 Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 1 Futures Contracts Available on a wide range of assets Exchange traded Specifications need to be defined: What can be delivered, Where it can be delivered, & When it can be delivered Settled daily Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 2 Opening and Closing Futures Position An investor could instruct a broker to buy for exp. one October oil futures contract. There is period of time during the delivery month when delivery can be made. Trading usually ends some time during the delivery period. The party with the short position chooses when delivery is made. However majorty of the futures contracts that are initiated do not lead to delivery. The reason is that most investors choose to close out their positions perior to the delivery period. Closing a position is entering into an opposite trade. Most contracts are closed out before maturity Specification of Futures Contracts The Asset Contract size Delivery arrangements Delivery months Price Quotes Price limits & position limits Convergence of Futures to Spot (Figure 2.1, page 26) Futures Price Spot Price Futures Price Spot Price Time (a) Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 Time (b) 5 The Operation of Margins A margin is cash or marketable securities deposited by an investor with his or her broker The balance in the margin account is adjusted to reflect daily settlement Margins minimize the possibility of a loss through a default on a contract Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 6 Example of a Futures Trade (page 26-28) An investor takes a long position in 2 December gold futures contracts on June 5 contract size is 100 oz. futures price is US$600 per oz margin requirement is US$2,000/contract (US$4,000 in total) maintenance margin is US$1,500/contract (US$3,000 in total) Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 7 A Possible Outcome Day Futures Price (US$) Daily Gain (Loss) (US$) Cumulative Gain (Loss) (US$) 600.00 Table 2.1, Page 28 Margin Account Margin Balance Call (US$) (US$) 4,000 5-Jun 597.00 . . . . . . (600) . . . (600) . . . 3,400 . . . 13-Jun 593.30 . . . . . . (420) . . . (1,340) . . . 2,660 + 1,340 = 4,000 . . . . . < 3,000 19-Jun 587.00 . . . . . . (1,140) . . . (2,600) . . . 2,740 + 1,260 = 4,000 . . . . . . 26-Jun 592.30 260 (1,540) 5,060 Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 0 . . . 0 8 Other Key Points About Futures They are settled daily. Min. Levels of initial and maintenance margin are set by the exchange. Margin requirements may depend on the objective of the trader. Day trades and spread transaction often give rise to lower margin requirement. Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 9 The clearing house and clearing margins The clearing house acts as an intermediary. It guarantees the performance of the two parties. It has a number of members who must post funds with the exchange. The main task of it is to keep track of all the transactions and calculate the net positions of its members. A clearing house member is required to maintain a margin with the clearing house (clearing margin). The main purpose of the margining system is to reduce default (credit) risk. Credit risk is a feature of the OTC market. Collateralization in OTC Markets A collateralization agreement btw two parties require them to value the contract each day. It is becoming increasingly common for contracts to be collateralized in OTC markets They are then similar to futures contracts in that they are settled regularly (e.g. every day or every week) They were used by a hedge fund (LTCM) in 1990s. Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 12 The credit crisis and the use of Clearing houses in OTC markets Credit crisis causes a systemic risk. Failure by a large fin. inst. will lead to failures by other large fin. insts. So that politiciants and regulators have looked at ways of making the OTC market more like the futures market. Newspaper Quotes Settlement price: the price just before the final bell each day. Open interest: the total number of contracts outstanding equal to number of long positions or number of short positions used for the daily settlement process Volume of trading: the number of trades in 1 day Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 14 Foreign Exchange Quotes Futures exchange rates are quoted as the number of USD per unit of the foreign currency Forward exchange rates are quoted in the same way as spot exchange rates. This means that GBP, EUR, AUD, and NZD are quoted as USD per unit of foreign currency. Other currencies (e.g., CAD and JPY) are quoted as units of the foreign currency per USD. Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 15 Futures Price ($ per oz) Futures Prices for Gold on Jan 8, 2007: Prices Increase with Maturity (Figure 2.2a, page 33) 650 640 630 620 Contract Maturity Month 610 600 Jan-07 Apr-07 Jul-07 Oct-07 Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 Jan-08 16 Futures Price (cents per lb) Futures Prices for Orange Juice on January 8, 2007: Prices Decrease with Maturity (Figure 2.2b, page 33) 210 205 200 195 190 185 180 175 170 Jan-07 Contract Maturity Month Mar-07 May-07 Jul-07 Sep-07 Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 Nov-07 17 Delivery If a futures contract is not closed out before maturity, it is usually settled by delivering the assets underlying the contract. When there are alternatives about what is delivered, where it is delivered, and when it is delivered, the party with the short position chooses. A few contracts (for example, those on stock indices and Eurodollars) are settled in cash Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 18 Types of Traders Traders: Futures Commission merchants Locals Traders: Speculators • Scalpers: Hold positions for a few minutes • Day traders: Hold positions for less than one day. • Position traders: Hold positions for longer periods Hedgers Arbitrageurs Types of Orders Market Order: A trade be carried out immediately at the best price available in the market. Limit order: Specifies a particular price. If the limit price is $30 for an investor wanting to buy, the order will be executed at a price of $30 or less. Stop order (Stop loss order): Suppose a stop order to sell at $30 is issued when the market price is $35. It becomes an order to sell when and if the price falls to $30. Orders cont. Stop limit order: Two prices must be specified. Suppose that at a price of $35, a stop limit order to buy is issued with a stop price of $40 and a limit price of $41. Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 21 Regulation of Futures Regulation is designed to protect the public interest Regulators try to prevent questionable trading practices by either individuals on the floor of the exchange or outside groups Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 22 Accounting & Tax Ideally hedging profits (losses) should be recognized at the same time as the losses (profits) on the item being hedged Ideally profits and losses from speculation should be recognized on a mark-to-market basis Roughly speaking, this is what the accounting and tax treatment of futures in the U.S. and many other countries attempts to achieve Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 23 Forward Contracts vs Futures Contracts TABLE 2.3 (p. 39) FORWARDS FUTURES Private contract between 2 parties Exchange traded Non-standard contract Standard contract Usually 1 specified delivery date Settled at end of contract Delivery or final cash settlement usually occurs Some credit risk Range of delivery dates Settled daily Contract usually closed out prior to maturity Virtually no credit risk Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 7th International Edition, Copyright © John C. Hull 2008 24