Futures are divided into commodity futures and stock futures. At present, there is no stock futures in China. Let me explain commodity futures.
Futures are relative to spot. They are delivered in different ways. Spot is cash spot, and futures are contract transactions, that is, mutual transfer of contracts. There is a time limit for futures delivery. Before the expiration, it is a contract transaction, but the expiration date is to cash the contract for spot delivery. Therefore, large futures institutions often do both spot and futures, which can be used for hedging and speculation. Ordinary investors often can't deliver in time, so they have to speculate purely, and the speculative value of commodities is often related to factors such as spot trend and duration of commodities.
Opening an account is very simple. You can open an account with a futures company, sign a contract and pay a certain deposit.
Futures trading is a kind of contract trading, and you only need to pay the deposit corresponding to the actual price of goods for each transaction. The specific margin ratio is determined by the futures exchange according to market conditions, and the futures company will also make adjustments.
For example, if you buy the futures of commodity A, his margin ratio is 1: 10, and his trading price is 10000 yuan per unit. Then you only need to pay 1000 yuan to buy a unit of goods. If the price of commodity A goes up by 10%, then you double it, and your 1000 becomes 2000. If the price of commodity A drops by 65,438+00%, you will lose everything. If you close your position at this time, your 1000 will become zero. If you want to continue holding positions, you must add margin. Many people often add margin because they refuse to accept the market, and finally their families are ruined.
At present, there are companies acting as agents for OTC futures trading in China, but the risks are great.