Specified months during which the actual delivery of the future may be made under the terms of the contract specification. The Delivery Months for Universal Stock Futures are the nearest two of March, June, September, December plus the nearest two serial months. This is the price at which Universal Stock Futures are settled following the close of trading on the last trading day. The method of calculation depends on the market for the underlying stock. Futures Contract A legally binding agreement between a buyer and seller to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument, sometime in the future at a price agreed today.
Futures contracts have standard delivery dates, trading units, terms and conditions.
The returnable deposited paid to the London Clearing House when initiating an open position. It protects the London Clearing House against a forward one-day adverse price movement in the event of a clearing member defaulting. The level is subject to changes in line with market conditions. In real-life trading, the quantities of initial and variation margin that you will be required to pay will be based on your initial and subsequent investment outlay and determined by your broker. See margin and London Clearing House.