The full name of stock index futures (SPIF) is stock index futures, which can also be called stock index futures and futures index. It refers to the standardized futures contract with the stock price index as the subject matter. The two parties agree to buy and sell the underlying index according to the size of the stock price index determined in advance at a future date, and settle the difference in cash after the expiration. As a type of futures trading, stock index futures trading has basically the same characteristics and processes as ordinary commodity futures trading. Stock index futures are a kind of futures, which can be roughly divided into two categories, commodity futures and financial futures.

Stock index futures refer to financial futures contracts with stock price index as the subject matter. In specific transactions, the value of stock index futures contracts is calculated by multiplying the index points by the unit amount specified in advance. For example, the Standard & Poor's Index stipulates that each point represents US$ 250, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong is HK$ 50. Generally, March, June, September and 65438+February are the cycle months of stock index contract trading, and some of them are traded every month of the year. The settlement is usually based on the closing index of the last trading day.

The essence of stock index futures trading is a process in which investors transfer their expected risk of the whole stock market price index to the futures market, and the risk is offset by the trading operations of investors who have different judgments on the stock market trend. It belongs to futures trading like commodity futures trading, except that the object of stock index futures trading is stock index, which is based on the change of stock index and settled in cash. There are no real stocks on both sides of the transaction, only stock index futures contracts can be bought and sold at any time.