The delivery date of stock index futures is generally the last day of the contract trading day (the last trading day is the third Friday of the contract expiration month, which will be postponed in case of national legal holidays). The essence of buying and selling stock index futures is to sign a contract with others and buy and sell futures indexes at the agreed price and quantity within the agreed time. When the agreed final performance time comes, the buyer and the seller must close the position (terminate the contract) or make delivery (cash settlement).

1. What is stock index futures?

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.

Second, the delivery method of stock index futures

The characteristics and processes of stock index futures trading and ordinary commodity futures trading are basically the same. Spot transactions between sellers and buyers of futures contracts. The delivery place is the delivery warehouse designated by each futures exchange. The delivery method includes that some futures contracts agree on the price at the trading time and complete the delivery off-site; Or after entering the delivery time. The delivery of stock index contracts is settled in cash.

Third, the difference between commodity futures and financial futures.

Part of the difference between commodity futures and financial futures is tangible and intangible. Commodity futures are mostly things that can be bought in real life or things that really exist. For example, corn, soybeans and gold are regarded as commodity futures; Financial futures, stock index futures and treasury bonds futures are all virtual trading products, which cannot be bought or sold in reality.

On the other hand, the transaction requirements are different. For example, ordinary commodity futures can be traded after opening an account normally. However, financial futures must have a capital verification of 500,000 yuan and an examination score of more than 80 points before trading authority can be opened.