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S&P 500
Index Options & Futures Trading
The Standard
& Poor's 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500
stocks from a broad range of industries. The component stocks are weighted
according to the total market value of their outstanding shares. The
impact of a component's price change is proportional to the issue's
total market value, which is the share price times the number of shares
outstanding. These are summed for all 500 stocks
and divided by a predetermined base value. The base value for the S&P
500 Index is adjusted to reflect changes in capitalization resulting
from mergers, acquisitions, stock rights, substitutions, etc.
S&P 500 Index Options
Contracts & Futures Trading Contracts
|
Securities |
Issuer |
Type |
Symbol / Root |
|
S&P 500 Index Options |
CBOE |
Options |
SPX |
|
(Reduced-value) LEAPS |
CBOE |
Options |
SPX |
|
S&P Long-Dated Options |
CBOE |
Options |
SPL |
|
E-mini S&P 500 |
CME |
Options
on Futures |
ES |
|
S&P 500 |
CME |
Options
on Futures |
SP |
|
S&P 500 Barra/Growth Index |
CME |
Options
on Futures |
SG |
|
S&P 500 Barra/Value Index |
CME |
Options
on Futures |
SU |
|
E-mini S&P 500 |
CME |
Futures |
ES |
|
S&P 500 |
CME |
Futures |
SP |
|
S&P 500 Barra/Growth Index |
CME |
Futures |
SG |
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S&P 500 Index: Trading
Options Contracts
Investors have used
options on the S&P 500 (SPX) index for a variety of purposes over
the past 18 years, including investing, hedging, asset allocation, and
the management of risk.
Investors
appreciate many features of the SPX options, including:
-
the
fact that the options are tied to the world's leading benchmark
for institutional investors;
-
SPX
options are powerful, flexible tools that allow investors to synthetically
adjust their positions to a 500-stock portfolio;
-
these
listed options minimize counterparty risk - they are guaranteed
by The Options Clearing Corporation, a triple-A rated clearinghouse.
-
there
is price discovery in competitive, SEC-regulated auction markets.
S&P
500 index futures trading contracts
are traded through an auction-like process, with all bids and offers
on each contract made public. Through this, a prevailing market price
is reached for each contract, based primarily on the laws of supply
and demand. This forum is a useful - and essential - element in a free
market economy. You might be surprised to know that the futures markets
are rarely used to actually buy or sell the physical commodity or financial
instrument being traded; they're used for price estimation, risk management,
and for some people, investment and profit.
- Related Links:
-
Stock Market
Directory -
complete source of financial, trading and investments articles and resources
that could become handy for beginner as well as for professional investors.
-
S&P 500 Quotes
- S&P 500 volume, advance decline and other quotes as well as quotes for
the S&P 400 and S&P 600
-
SPY Options - SPY
options trading signals based on the advance S&P 500 technical analysis.
Start using the unique and simple trading system.
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