Trading
Futures & Options
Deep dive into F&O trading — contracts, Greeks, strategies, and how professional traders use them.
Futures and Options (F&O) are the most actively traded derivatives in India and the US. Understanding them opens up strategies ranging from simple directional bets to sophisticated income generation and portfolio hedging. NSE is the world's largest derivatives exchange by number of contracts. This guide covers the key concepts every F&O trader needs.
Futures Contracts Deep Dive
Key concepts every futures trader must understand.
- Contract specifications: Lot size, tick size, contract value, expiry date
- Margin: Initial margin (SPAN) required to open position; maintenance margin minimum
- Mark-to-market (MTM): Daily settlement of gains/losses to margin account
- Rollover: Moving from expiring contract to next month before expiry
- Basis: Difference between spot price and futures price; converges to zero at expiry
- Contango vs Backwardation: Futures above or below spot — driven by carrying costs and expectations
Options Contracts: The Greeks
The "Greeks" measure how an option's price changes in response to various market factors.
| Greek | Measures | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Delta | Price change per ₹1/$1 underlying move | ATM call ~0.5; deep ITM ~1; deep OTM ~0 |
| Gamma | Rate of Delta change | Highest near ATM; spikes near expiry |
| Theta | Time decay per day | Negative for buyers; positive for sellers |
| Vega | Sensitivity to implied volatility changes | High IV = expensive options; buy on low IV |
| Rho | Interest rate sensitivity | Minor factor for most traders |
Basic F&O Strategies
These are the most widely used strategies across retail and professional traders.
- Covered Call: Own the stock + sell call — generates income, caps upside
- Protective Put: Own stock + buy put — portfolio insurance against crash
- Bull Call Spread: Buy lower strike call + sell higher strike call — defined risk bullish bet
- Bear Put Spread: Buy higher strike put + sell lower strike put — defined risk bearish bet
- Iron Condor: Sell OTM call + buy further OTM call + sell OTM put + buy further OTM put — income strategy in range-bound markets
- Straddle: Buy ATM call + ATM put — profits from large moves in either direction (pre-earnings)
💡 Pro Tip: Start with buying options (defined risk) before selling them. Selling options feels like steady income until a black swan event turns premium collection into catastrophic loss.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Always trade F&O with defined risk — spreads and bought options limit maximum loss
- ✓Options sellers earn premium income but need large capital and manage significant risk
- ✓Theta (time decay) works FOR sellers and AGAINST buyers — time is an option buyer's enemy
- ✓Never hold short options naked (unhedged) into weekly expiry — gamma risk spikes dramatically
- ✓Understand all your Greeks before selling options spreads — Vega exposure can be more dangerous than Delta
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