Capital Market learning Programs (CMLP)

CMFD

Trading Shares and Commodities Using Leveraged Products

Master the fundamentals of futures, options, hedging and derivatives trading in Pakistan, with practical applications across PSX and PMEX.

Beginner English

5

Enrolled

1

Section

14

Lessons

About this course

Trading Shares and Commodities Using Leveraged Products is an advanced micro-course designed for experienced investors, active traders and finance professionals who want to understand how derivatives can be used for trading, hedging and risk management. The course takes learners from the core structure of forwards, futures, options and swaps through futures pricing, margin accounts and marking to market. It then introduces options pricing, moneyness, Black-Scholes, the key Greeks and practical strategies including covered calls, protective puts and option spreads. The course also applies these concepts to Pakistan's market environment, covering PSX futures, PMEX commodity futures and commodity hedging, followed by an introduction to Value at Risk (VaR) and relevant regulatory considerations. The course concludes with a written capstone in which learners design a complete, risk-managed derivatives trading strategy, including entry and exit conditions, maximum-loss calculations and appropriate risk-monitoring measures.

What you'll learn

  • Explain the differences between forwards, futures, options and swaps.
  • Calculate the theoretical fair value of a futures contract using the cost-of-carry model.
  • Understand initial margin, maintenance margin, variation margin and daily marking to market.
  • Explain call and put options, premiums, strike prices, payoff profiles and breakeven points.
  • Identify options as in-the-money (ITM), at-the-money (ATM) or out-of-the-money (OTM).
  • Explain the five key inputs used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.
  • Interpret the major option Greeks — delta, gamma, theta and vega.
  • Select and evaluate basic strategies such as covered calls, protective puts, bull call spreads and bear put spreads.
  • Understand the role of PMEX commodity futures in trading and hedging.
  • Design a basic futures hedge for a commodity exposure.
  • Explain Value at Risk (VaR) and perform a simplified VaR calculation.
  • Recognise key risk-management and regulatory considerations associated with leveraged derivatives trading.
  • Develop a structured, risk-managed derivatives strategy with clearly defined entry, exit and maximum-loss parameters.

Requirements

  • Basic understanding of equities and capital markets.
  • Familiarity with PSX and basic trading terminology is recommended.
  • Basic knowledge of financial mathematics, including percentages, rates and simple formulas.
  • Suitable for active traders, experienced investors, finance professionals, MBA students, treasury professionals and risk officers.
  • Learners should be comfortable working with numerical examples and interpreting charts, payoff diagrams and financial data.
  • Completion of an introductory equities/PSX course is recommended before starting this advanced course.
  • No prior derivatives-trading experience is required, but learners should have a solid foundation in capital-market concepts.

Curriculum

1 section · 14 lessons

Trading Shares and Commodities 14 lessons
  • Lesson 1: How a cotton mill owner solved a problem with futures
  • Lesson 2: Forwards, futures, options and swaps
  • Lesson 3: Futures pricing — cost-of-carry model
  • Lesson 4: Margin accounts — initial, variation and marking to market
  • Lesson 5: Options fundamentals — calls, puts, payoff diagrams
  • Lesson 6: Moneyness - ITM, ATM and OTM
  • Lesson 7: Black-Scholes - intuition and the five inputs
  • Lesson 8: Option Greeks — delta, gamma, theta, vega
  • Lesson 9: Trading strategies - covered call, protective put, spreads
  • Lesson 10: PMEX - commodity futures on gold, oil and agriculture
  • Lesson 11: Hedging with PMEX — Pakistani importer case study
  • Lesson 12: VaR and SECP regulatory obligations
  • Lesson 13: Design your trading strategy - capstone
  • DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCE - Derivatives & Futures — Strategy Design Template

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