In the stock index futures market, open contracts refer to the number of open contracts of a contract held by market participants or traders. This quantity is an important market reference data, which can reflect the heat and trend of the market. A high position usually means that market participants are optimistic or pessimistic about the market direction, so it can provide useful signals for other traders to formulate their own trading strategies.

Changes in positions can also bring intervention and regulation effects to the stock index futures market. Because traders with a large number of open contracts need to pour in a large amount of funds in the short to medium term if they need to load and unload goods in the market, which may affect the liquidity and price trend of the whole market. Therefore, in some cases, market regulators will take measures such as compulsory liquidation or lowering margin to curb excessive positions.

Open positions can also help investors better understand the trading behavior of other traders. By analyzing the changes of positions, we can understand the basic trend of the market and whether there are complex trading strategies. For example, if the position is rising, but the price trend is downward, it may mean that the bulls have started to go out, or the bears are gradually gaining an advantage in the market. Therefore, traders can adjust their positions and trading strategies accordingly, avoid risks to the greatest extent and improve returns.