Stock Options Game ABC’s

Stock option trading is a high levered market play. An option is a contract between a buyer and a seller that gives the buyer the right?but not the obligation?to buy or to sell a particular asset (the underlying asset) at a later date at an agreed upon price. In return for granting the option, the seller collects a premium from the buyer. The Wall Street Journal, Stock Option Trader, amongst others, analyze market conditions and trends.

A call option gives the buyer the right to buy the underlying asset; a put option gives the buyer of the option the right to sell the underlying asset. If the buyer chooses to exercise this right, the seller is obliged to sell or buy the asset at the agreed price. An option trading tutorial or often free Wall Street reference guide is essential to successful trading.

A call option provides the right to buy a specified quantity of a security at a set agreed amount, known as the ‘strike price’ at some time on or before expiration, while buying a put option provides the right to sell. Upon the option holder’s choice to exercise the option, the party who sold, or wrote the option, must fulfill the terms of the contract.

Many models have been developed that accurately evaluate the value of an option through statistical models. This is an important consideration since risk needs to be quantified given the volatile nature of many markets and the great leverage inherent with options.

Over-the-counter options are traded between private parties, often well-capitalized institutions that have negotiated separate trading and clearing arrangements with each other.

Many statistical tools that predict price movement are available for technical timing. The main ideas should be based on direction and trend gleaned from news authorities and sources such as the Wall Street Journal or option trader news services.

The stock market, in fact all markets, behave in wave-like oscillations over time. It is important to gauge the direction of the wave before you take a position. If a stock is experiencing a strong upward long-term trend, but the current short-term trend is downward, leading an lagging technical indicators help signal entry and exit points for your trade.

Lagging indicators give a buy signal after the trend has been established whereas a leading indicator give a signal before a trend is initiated. With leading indicators there are many fake-outs. Relying on lagging indicators only would preclude one from catching large gains found early in a trend.