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1. What are the profits and losses in case of a futures position ? 2. What happens to the profit or loss due to daily settlement ? 3. How does the Initial Margin affect the above profit or loss ? 4. What is a spread position ? 5. How are spread rates calculated ? Please illustrate with an example. 6. How do we calculate spreads in case of two way quotations ? 7. Please give a simple illustration to explain the mechanics of spread trading ? 1 What are the profits and losses in case of a futures position ? The profits and losses would depend upon the difference between the price at which the position is opened and the price at which it is closed. Let us take some examples.
2 What happens to the profit or loss due to daily settlement ? In case the position is not closed the same day, the daily settlement would alter the cash flows depending on the settlement price fixed by the exchange every day. However the net total of all the flows every day would always be equal to the profit or loss calculated above. Profit or loss would only depend upon the opening and closing price of the position, irrespective of how the rates have moved in the intervening days. Let's take the illustration given in example 1 where a long position is opened at 15000 and closed at 15800 resulting in a profit of 800 points or Rs. 12000. Let's assume that the position was closed on the fifth day from the day it was taken. Let's also assume three different series of closing settlement prices on these days and look at the resultant cash flows.
Daily closing settlement price
In all the cases the net resultant is a profit of 800 points, which is the difference between the closing and opening price, irrespective of the daily settlement price and different MTM flows. 3 How does the Initial Margin affect the above profit or loss ? The initial margin is only a security provided by the client through the clearing member to the exchange. It can be withdrawn in full after the position is closed. Therefore it does not affect the above calculation of profit or loss. However there may be a funding cost / transaction cost in providing the security. This cost must be added to your total transaction costs to arrive at the true picture. Other items in transaction costs would include brokerage, stamp duty etc. A calendar spread is created by taking simultaneously two positions
Examples of Calendar Spreads
A spread position must be closed by reversing both the legs simultaneously. The reversal of 1 above would be a sale of June Sensex Futures while simultaneously buying the July Sensex Futures. 5 How are spread rates calculated ? Please illustrate with an example. The profit or loss in case of spreads depends only upon the difference between the rates for the two different calendar months. The real position is only of the differential - irrespective of the two rates. Let's take an example. Example 4 - assuming the futures are being traded at the following rates
The spread calculations are as follows
6 How do we calculate spreads in case of two way quotations ? In case the prices are quoted as bid and offer, the spreads would also have a two way quotation. While calculating use thumb rule that the spread rate calculated must have the maximum spread possible from the two given rates. Example 5 - Lets assume the futures are being traded at the following rates
The spreads would be calculated as follows.
Another thumb rule to check the correctness of calculation is that the bid offer difference of the spread must be equal to the sum of the bid-offer differences of the two futures contract. For example the bid-offer difference for June-August spread is 140 points which is equal to the sum of the bid-offer difference of June Futures 50 points and August Futures 90 points. 7 Please give a simple illustration to explain the mechanics of spread trading ? To illustrate lets assume that the market is in Contango i.e. the futures price is higher than the cash underlying price and the futures price of far month is higher than the futures price of the near month.
The spread calculations are as follows
Example 6
Please note that the spread profit depends only upon the differential received or paid, irrespective of the futures rates. In the above example let's take three cases where reversal is done at 900 points but with substantially different levels for June and July. Case 1 -17000 and 17900
Case 2 - 16550 and 17450
Case 3 - 16000 and 16900
You would notice that the profit is always 200 points irrespective of the rates as the spread received is constant at 900 points. |
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