Stock Futures
A futures contract whose underlying is a single listed company's shares.
Formula
Contract Value = Share Price x Lot Size; settlement in India is by physical delivery of the shares
Unit
₹
In depth
Single-stock futures in India are physically settled, so a position held to expiry becomes an obligation to deliver or receive the full quantity of shares — the contract value, not the margin. Only stocks meeting SEBI's liquidity and market-capitalisation criteria are eligible, and a stock can be removed from the list, at which point no new contracts are permitted. Because a single company can gap on its own news, stock futures carry event risk that index futures diversify away. Position limits apply per client and market-wide, and a stock hitting its market-wide limit is placed in a ban period during which only position reduction is allowed.
Worked example
A stock at ₹500 with a lot size of 1,000 gives a contract value of ₹5,00,000 against margin of perhaps ₹1,00,000. Held to expiry, the obligation is the full ₹5,00,000 in shares, not the margin posted.
Illustrative figures, chosen so the arithmetic is easy to follow. Not a live price and not a valuation of any company.
Educational reference only
This entry explains what “Stock Futures” means. It is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any numbers above are illustrative, not live prices, and nothing here predicts price direction or rates a stock. Consider your own circumstances and consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser before acting.