stock index option
Stock index option
Copyright © 2012, Campbell R. Harvey. All Rights Reserved.
Stock Index Option
A call or put option contract in which the underlying asset is a stock index. For example, in a call, an investor may buy the right to an index on or before the expiration date at a certain strike price. Obviously, one cannot buy or sell a physical index; so, the underlying asset is said to be the dollar value of an index at a certain date and time multiplied by $100. Because physical delivery is not possible, when a stock index option is exercised, the delivery is the cash value of the strike price. See also: Exchange-traded fund, Index fund.
Farlex Financial Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All Rights Reserved
stock index option
A contract that gives its owner the right to buy (call option) or sell (put option) a stock index at a fixed value until a specified date. Options are traded on the S&P 500, the S&P 100, the NYSE Composite Index, and the Major Market Index, along with specialized indexes. These options work exactly like regular stock options except that an index rather than a particular stock is the underlying asset. As with stock index futures, delivery must be in cash because it is not possible to deliver an index. See also Section 1256 contracts.
Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott. Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. All rights reserved.