Futures Trading in Australia
August 27th, 2010CFD Trading, Futures Trading, General, Trading Tips No CommentsIn brief, futures contracts are contracts to purchase or sell an equity or commodity on a specified future date. This indicates you’re either hedging a position you have, or speculating on the long term value of the specific stock, market sector, currency or interest rate.
In Australia there’s 1 main market for futures traders, the Australian Securities Exchange – the joined entity from the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) and also the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
Probably the most active of the local futures is the Share Price Index (or SPI), that is utilised to reflect the future value of the market’s leading benchmark, the ASX/S&P 200.
The SFE is 1 of the 10 highest traded futures exchanges in the world by volume, and can be traded in 24-hours a day. It makes it possible for investors to speculate on currencies, interest rates, bonds, commodities and equities.
The objective of buying and selling futures contracts is either; solely for speculation, or for hedging against movements in a share portfolio. The futures market presents a trader the chance to take advantage of bearish sentiment on stocks within your portfolio, while also preserving your existing placement.
Futures contracts are leveraged positions, which implies that the face value of the contract isn’t what you actually pay up front.
Normally, the cost of the contract is only a small percentage from the underlying value. As a result, when you’re right, your gains are considerably higher in percentage terms since you have only outlaid a small amount of the capital to control more stock than you otherwise could have, if you had acquired the underlying share.
Contracts are settled in cash rather than in the shares that they represent, so at expiry, you’ll get the difference between the actual worth of the contract and also the cost you bought or sold, or you will have to pay the difference.
While most professional trading houses and hedgers will trade through the SFE, the majority of retail traders will find that Contracts For Difference (CFDs) are a much more accessible way to trade.
CFDs are an excellent way to speculate and hedge. The use of leverage can magnify profits, but not surprisingly also magnify losses.
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