The principle of stock index futures is that investors can buy and sell stock index futures by short selling, long selling and hedging, so as to obtain income. When the price of stock index futures rises, the buyer can get the difference profit, and vice versa. This way can make investors get higher returns at lower cost, because the transaction cost of stock index futures is lower than that of stocks.
The timetable of stock index futures is very clear, and the maturity date of futures contracts is the liquidation date. Before that, investors need to decide whether to exercise the option on the maturity date or sell it to others. Unlike stocks, the maturity date of stock index futures is fixed, which means it can help investors plan their investment strategies in a certain period of time. Therefore, for some investors, stock index futures have become a very useful tool.
There are many kinds of stock index futures, including standard stock index futures, OTC futures, minimum value stock index futures and so on. Investors should pay attention to the risks and potential profits when choosing suitable contracts. However, these different kinds of stock index futures have their own characteristics to meet the needs of different types of investors.
For investors, stock index futures also have certain decision-making risks. When buying and selling stock index futures, investors must consider economic and market factors, such as the relationship between market supply and demand, the slowdown of major shareholders' holdings, macroeconomic environment and national policies. Investors also need to pay attention to the financial report, whether the quarterly performance growth is as expected, the company's supervision and litigation risks and other factors. Therefore, the trading risk of stock index futures is very high.
In addition, stock index futures also involve leverage, which means that investors can get more trading funds by borrowing. This is beneficial to some investors who know how to manage risks.