The stock index is the stock market index. Among many indexes, the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index can best reflect the stock market, so the underlying index of stock index futures is the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index. The subject matter of stock index futures trading is a "contract" that is agreed to be traded at a certain time in the future under certain conditions. In the contract, determine the quantity of the subject matter, the date and place of delivery, the date of payment and other elements. On the due date, the buyer and the seller must deliver the goods and settle in cash. However, you can sell or buy at any time before the delivery date.

Buying stock index futures requires a deposit of 12% of the purchase value, and does not require the full amount. In this way, a small amount of money can be used to buy a contract with greater value, which not only improves the profit space, but also increases the risk of loss. Unlike stocks and funds, not selling them is just a book profit and loss. The contract in hand is settled at the settlement price every day, and the book profit can be withdrawn, but the book loss must be made up before the opening of the next day (that is, additional margin). And because it is a margin transaction, the loss may even exceed your investment principal, which is different from stock trading.

As long as investors can correctly judge the stock trend, they may get high returns; On the contrary, misjudgment may lead to heavy losses or even no return.

According to the regulations, when an investor applies for opening an account, the balance of available funds in the margin account shall not be less than RMB 500,000. At present, small and medium-sized investors account for the majority in the A-share market, but not many investors can invest 500,000 yuan. Therefore, the high threshold of 500,000 yuan means that many stock investors are excluded from stock index futures, and it also indicates that stock index futures may be just a game for the rich, and stock index futures have become an out-and-out "rich club". The reason why the threshold is set so high is that the regulatory authorities have the intention of warning small and medium-sized investors not to rush in.

Give an example to illustrate the profit and loss of stock index futures trading. If you buy a hand on 65438+1October 19 (Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index closes at 3508 points multiplied by the specified "contract multiplier" 300 yuan/point), you need to pay a deposit: 3508 points ⅹ300 yuan/point x12% =/kloc-0. Then the loss:113x300 = 33,900 yuan will be withdrawn from the deposit account, leaving only126288-33,900 = 92,388 yuan as deposit, but the deposit on that day should be 3395x300x12% =/. This requires an additional deposit 122220-92388=29832 yuan. If it continues to fall, it will fall by 300 points by the delivery date, and the loss is very miserable! Of course, if the stock index rises sharply, the profit will be very rich.

Therefore, investing in stock index futures requires not only abundant funds, but also familiarity with relevant professional knowledge and trading rules. If you don't have these conditions, don't get involved. You'd better be a bystander

What impact does the introduction of stock index futures have on the stock market and funds? He Qiang, member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Securities and Futures Research Institute of the Central University of Finance and Economics, said, "After the introduction of stock index futures, investors' investment behavior will be greatly improved, and the China stock market will gradually enter the normal state of smooth trading. Statistics show that after the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, the stock markets of 22 countries and regions that have launched stock index futures, such as the United States, Britain and South Korea, have the largest average decline of 49.6%, while those of eight countries that have not launched stock index futures, such as China and Viet Nam, have the largest average decline of 63.2%. Among emerging market countries, the average stock market decline of countries that have launched stock index futures is 47. 1%, and the decline of China A-share market is 70%, which shows that the capital market that has launched stock index futures is relatively stable as a whole. He Qiang said, "The financial crisis reminds us that the China stock market needs an internal stability mechanism." He also said that stock index futures is one of the tools to manage the risks in the stock market and will not change the trend of the stock market for a long time. For example, when the United States, France and Japan introduced stock index futures, the stock market was in the process of rising, and the stock market still maintained its original upward trend after the stock index futures were listed; However, South Korea and Taiwan Province Province introduced stock index futures before and after the Asian financial crisis, but the downward trend of their stock markets has not changed.

For funds, the industry believes that the funds with heavy blue-chip stocks and the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index Foundation will benefit, which will help the net value rise.