It is a financial futures contract with the stock price index as the subject matter, that is, a standardized contract with the stock price index of the stock market as the subject matter, which is concluded by both parties and agreed to trade the stock price index at an agreed price at a certain time in the future. Besides the general characteristics of futures trading such as standardized contract, leverage mechanism, centralized trading, hedging mechanism and daily debt-free settlement, it also has some characteristics of its own. For example, the subject matter of stock index futures is the corresponding stock price index, and the quotation unit is calculated by index points and cash delivery is adopted. Since KCTB introduced value line index futures on 1982, stock index futures have developed rapidly. According to the statistics of the Futures Association (FIA), by the end of 2005, at least one stock index futures product had been listed on 32 exchanges in 29 countries/regions. Among the 396,654.38 billion futures contracts in the world in 2005, stock index futures ranked second, accounting for 22.2% of the global futures trading volume, second only to interest rate futures (53. 17%).
The development of stock index futures can be roughly divided into four stages: gestation stage (1977- 1982), growth stage (1983- 1987) and stagnation stage (1988-65438). In 1970s, financial globalization and liberalization increased the sources and transmission channels of risks, and amplified the impact and consequences of risks. Global commodity and asset fluctuations have intensified, and financial crises have occurred frequently. At the same time, western countries are affected by the oil crisis, with unstable economic development, frequent fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates, intensified inflation and depressed stock markets. The Dow Jones index in the United States fell to 1700, even more than twice as much as during the financial crisis in the 1930s. The stock market price fluctuates greatly, and investors have a strong demand for stock risk management tools.
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