How futures and options actually work — contracts, margin, leverage, and expiry — explained as mechanics, not trade calls.
Futures and options let you take a position on a price without owning the underlying asset, which is why they need margin and why losses can exceed what you first put in. These explainers cover NSE contract basics — lot sizes, expiry, margin and settlement — and how option prices respond to the underlying, time and volatility.
SEBI's own studies of individual traders in equity F&O have found that a large majority lose money, so this section is written to explain mechanics and risk, never to suggest trades. Use the option chain simulator and Greeks calculator to see how a contract's value changes before you ever consider a live position.
A futures contract is a commitment to trade later at a price agreed today. Here is how index and stock futures work on NSE — lots, margins, daily settlement, expiry, and rollover — explained as mechanics, not trade ideas.
An option gives the buyer a right, not an obligation. That one asymmetry explains premiums, time decay, and why the risk for an option seller is so different from the risk for a buyer.
Leverage lets a small deposit control a large position. That makes derivatives capital-efficient — and means losses arrive just as fast as gains, sometimes faster than you can react.
An option chain packs hundreds of numbers onto one screen. Once you know how it is laid out and what each column measures, it becomes a readable map of where options are priced and where activity is concentrated.
Equity futures and options on NSE are standardised contracts with fixed lot sizes, set expiry dates, defined settlement rules, and margin requirements. Here is how each of those pieces works, and where to check the current numbers.