Equity Futures and Forwards Pricing
Introduction to Equity Futures and Forwards Pricing
Overview
An Equity Forward contract is an agreement between two counterparties to buy a specific number of equity stocks, stock index or basket at a given price (called strike price) at a given date. For any forward contract no cash changes hands until the maturity of the contract. Equity forward contracts are cash settled in most cases. At maturity, the two counterparties exchange a cashflow equivalent to the difference between the stock closing price and the strike price. Equity forward contract is traded over the counter (OTC) instead of exchange market.
Differently from Equity Forward, an Equity Futures contract traded over the organized exchange. In this contract parties commit to buy or sell a specified amount of an individual equity or a basket of equities or an equity index at an agreed contract price on a specified date. Generally there are two types of Equity Futures: Index Future and Stock Future. Stock markets Index Futures are futures contracts used to replicate the performance of an underlying stock market index. They can be used for hedging against an existing equity position, or speculating on future movements of the index. Indices for futures include well-established indices such as S&P 500, FTSE 100, DAX, CAC 40 and other G12 country indices. Indices for OTC products are broadly similar, but offer more flexibility.
Single-stock futures are exchange-traded futures contracts based on an individual underlying security rather than a stock index. Their performance is similar to that of the underlying equity itself, although as futures contracts they are usually traded with greater leverage. Another difference is that holders of long positions in single stock futures typically do not receive dividends and holders of short positions do not pay dividends. Single-stock futures may be cash-settled or physically settled by the transfer of the underlying stocks at expiration, although in the United States only physical settlement is used to avoid speculation in the market.
A future takes place on an organized exchange where the all of the contract's terms and conditions, except price, are formalized. The future's standardization helps to create liquidity in the marketplace enabling participants to close out positions before expiration. Equity forward contract is traded over the counter (OTC). They are customized to meet the user's special needs. Forwards have credit risk, but futures do not because a clearing house guarantees against default risk
Equity Forward Introduction
An Equity Forward contract is an agreement between two counterparties to buy a specific number of equity stocks, stock index or basket at a given price (called strike price) at a given date.
Forwards are customized to meet the user's special needs.
For any forward contract no cash changes hands until the maturity of the contract.
Equity forward contracts are cash settled in most cases.
At maturity, the two counterparties exchange a cashflow equivalent to the difference between the stock closing price and the strike price.
Equity forward contract is traded over the counter (OTC) instead of exchange market.
Equity Future Introduction
An Equity Futures contract traded over the organized exchange.
In this contract parties commit to buy or sell a specified amount of an individual equity or a basket of equities or an equity index at an agreed contract price on a specified date.
A future takes place on an organized exchange where the all of the contract's terms and conditions, except price, are formalized. The future's standardization helps to create liquidity in the marketplace enabling participants to close out positions before expiration.
Generally there are two types of Equity Futures: Index Future and Stock Future. Stock Index Futures are futures contracts used to replicate the performance of an underlying stock market index.
Single-stock futures are exchange-traded futures contracts based on an individual underlying security rather than a stock index.
The holders of long positions in single stock futures typically do not receive dividends and holders of short positions do not pay dividends
. Single-stock futures may be cash-settled or physically settled
The Use of Equity Forwards and Futures
They can be used for hedging against an existing equity position.
People also use equity forwards or futures to speculate on future movements of the index.
Buyers benefit from price increases while sellers benefit from price decreases
Forwards have credit risk, but futures do not because a clearing house guarantees against default risk
Indices for futures include well-established indices such as S&P 500, FTSE 100, DAX, CAC 40 and other G12 country indices. Indices for OTC products are broadly similar, but offer more flexibility.
futures contracts they are usually traded with greater leverage.
Valuation
Equity futures prices are usually quoted in the same way as equity prices quoted in the underlying cash market by exchanges.
A pricing model is mainly used to calculate risk for a future contract, although it is utilized for computing both price and risk for a forward.
The theoretical value of a future/forward depends on the dividend model assumption.
There are two types of dividends: dividend yield (continuous dividend) or discrete dividend.
The pricing methodology for Equity Forward/Future is straightforward as following:
F=Se(r-q)(T-t)
where F is the forward price, S is the spot price, r is the interest rate, q is dividend yield, and (T-t) is time to maturity.
An Real World Example
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