What Is Options Trading In The World Trade's Terms

By Harriet Denis


Many people might wonder, "What is options trading?", It is not as complicated and exhausting a task as it many preconceive it as. Options trading seems mysterious to a great amount of people because vast majority of day traders have no idea what it really consists of.

Options allow the one who holds them the ability to legally purchase or sell them for a certain price at a specific date. When choosing a specific date and buying or selling on that date, this move is called a European option. Whereas buying and selling at a time before the chosen date is called a US option.

Stock options and future options are two categories that are rolled into this type of exchange. Both have similarities and differences. While both of these give rights for sales and purchases, they differ somewhat. General stocks give the lawful right to sell or buy whenever one wants, while future exchanges have a mandatory sale attached to their name.

Several markets for trades exist in the United States and European style. Among the European style types, which are all cash settled matters, are the ODAX, OSMI, and the ESX. Respectively they are the German, Swiss, and European owned stock indexes. Among the US styled stocks are those that are cash settled and future settled. The OYM, which is based on a stock index of the Chicago Board of Trade, is the only cash settled stock in the US category. The EUR and the OZG are both future settled.

The negotiation of contracts is crucial in trading. It involves selling, buying, and exchanging contracts. The contracts will always detail the type of stock, the date of its expiration, its price and what kind of security it happens to be. Some prefer to trade the right to the commodity for selling or buying purposes while others actually make a profit off the difference in the bought and sold price.

The SEC, of the securities and exchange commission of the United States, heavily regulates the types of stocks that can be traded within the borders of the United States. Both European and US stocks and dealt in futures or immediate currency. While the future options are changed to contracts to be traded, the cash stocks are bought and sold. The US only has two future stock options and the SEC restricts the trade of all cash stocks.

The characteristics to recognize these stocks by and understand them are those that every day trader would understand. One part is the trading symbol, usually consisting of several letters as an abbreviation of something recognizable. The second part is the date of expiration usually consisting of the month and year the item expires. The third is the right to buy or sell and the price by which it can be bought or sold.

Those who previously wondered, "What is options trading", can rest assured that it is not a complicated subject matter. People who are already familiar with some stock exchanges can do some research online or in their local bookstore to better familiarize themselves with stock trade in today's market.




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