- Trading volume in all derivatives was 1.35 million contracts during March 2014.
- Open interest was over 266 thousand at the end of March 2014.
WIG20 futures
- Trading volume in WIG20 futures was 1.02 million contracts for the month, an increase of 13.4% year on year.
- The average volume per session, in March 2014, was 48.4 thousand contracts.
- Open interest in WIG20 futures was 114.9 thousand at the end of March 2014.
mWIG40 futures
- Trading volume in mWIG40 futures was 15.6 thousand contracts during March 2014.
- The average volume per session, in March 2014, was 741 contracts.
- Open interest in mWIG40 futures was 2.1 thousand at the end of March 2014.
Options
- Trading volume in WIG20 options was 53.4 thousand contracts during March 2014,
a decrease of 28.2% year on year. - The average volume per session, in March 2014, was 2.5 thousand options.
- Open interest in options was 29.2 thousand at the end of March 2014, a decrease of 18.5% year on year.
Single-stock futures
- In March 2014, the trading volume in all single-stock futures was 64.8 thousand contracts.
- Open interest in single-stock futures was 5.7 thousand at the end of March 2014.
- The most traded single-stock futures in March were:
No. Underlying Trading volume (#) in March 2014
- KGHM S.A. 20 758
- PKOBP S.A. 13 417
- PKN ORLEN S.A. 12 018
- PZU S.A. 5 392
- CDPROJEKT S.A. 3 817
Currency futures
- Trading volume in currency futures was 198.4 thousand contracts during March 2014.
- The most traded currency futures, in March 2014, were USD/PLN futures. The trading volume in USD/PLN futures was 174.6 thousand contracts, representing 88% of the trading volume in all currency futures.
- Open interest in currency futures was 105.6 thousand at the end of March 2014.
For more statistics, click here to view Table 1 and Figures 1 and 2.
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Derivative instruments are the most effective tool which can be used to manage specific risks. Derivatives based on indices and single stocks can be used to manage market risk, i.e. to hedge an existing equities portfolio against a decrease in value. Currency futures can be used to hedge against the risk of disadvantageous changes of an exchange rate. This means derivatives can be used for instance by entities which hold specific currency positions with respect to the following exchange rates: USD/PLN, EUR/PLN, CHF/PLN. Particularly important are options, which provide great flexibility in building hedging strategies. WSE lists options which expire on four different expiry dates; many series of call and put options with different strike prices are available for each expiry date. Options can be used to build hedging strategies according to different market scenarios and at a different cost of hedging.
Derivative instruments are also an effective investment tool. Derivatives can be profitable when the value of the underlying instrument increases or decreases. Investments in derivatives involve a high leverage. Again, options are particularly important due to their various applications. Options can be used not only to invest in an expected increase or decrease of the value of the underlying instrument, but also an increase or decrease of market volatility, etc. Arbitrage strategies, employed mainly by institutional investors, are a special variety of investment strategies.