Deck 2: Structure of Options Markets

Question 1

The exchange with the largest share of the options market is the
A) American Stock Exchange

A) Boston Options Exchange
B) Chicago Board Options Exchange
D) Pacific Stock Exchange
E) Philadelphia Stock Exchange

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A put option in which the stock price is $60 and the exercise price is $65 is said to be

A) in-the-money
B) out-of-the-money
C) at-the-money
D) exercisable
E) none of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

An investor who owns a call option can close out the position by any of the following types of transactions except

A) exercise
B) offset
C) expiring out-of-the-money
D) buying a put
E) none of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following are long-term options?

A) Bond options
B) LEAPS
C) currency options
D) Nikkei put warrants
E) none of the above

Question 5

The exercise price can be set at any desired level on each of the following types of options except

A) FLEX options
B) equity options
C) over-the-counter options
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 6

Which one of the following is not a type of transaction cost in options trading?
A) all of the above

A) the bid-ask spread
B) the commission
C) clearing fees
D) the cost of obtaining a quote

Question 7

Which of the following is a legitimate type of option order on the exchange?

A) purchase order
B) limit order
C) execution order
D) floor order
E) all of the above

Question 8

The advantages of the over-the-counter options market include all of the following except

A) customized contracts
B) privately executed
C) freedom from government regulation
D) lower prices
E) none of the above

Question 9

The number of options acquired when one contract is purchased on an exchange is

A) 1
B) 5
C) 100
D) 500
E) 8,000

Question 10

Which of the following index options is the most widely traded?

A) S&P 500
B) Nikkei 225
C) Technology Index
D) New York Stock Exchange Index
E) none of the above

Question 11

Organized options markets are different from over-the-counter options markets for all of the following reasons except

A) exercise terms
B) physical trading floor
C) regulation
D) standardized contracts
E) credit risk

Question 12

The option price is also referred to as the

A) strike
B) spread
C) premium
D) fee
E) none of the above

Question 13

Which type of trader legitimately practices dual trading?

A) floor brokers
B) off-floor option traders
C) board brokers
D) designated primary market makers
E) none of the above

Question 14

Options are traded on which of the following exchanges?

A) NYSE Amex
B) NYSE Euronext (Arca)
C) Chicago Board Options Exchange
D) International Securities Exchange
E) all of the above

Question 15

Index options trading on organized exchanges expire according to which of the following cycles?
A) March, June, September, and December

A) none of the above
B) each of the next four consecutive months
C) the current month, the next month, and the next two months in one of the other cycles
D) every other month for each of the next nine months

Question 16

If the market maker will buy at 4 and sell at 4.50, the bid-ask spread is

A) 8.50
B) 4.25
C) 0.50
D) 4.00
E) none of the above

Question 17

A writer selected to exercise an option is said to be

A) marginal
B) assigned
C) restricted
D) designated
E) none of the above

Question 18

An investor who exercises a call option on an index must

A) accept the cash difference between the index and the exercise price
B) purchase all of the stocks in the index in their appropriate proportions from the writer
C) immediately buy a put option to offset the call option
D) immediately write another call option to offset
E) none of the above

Question 19

All of the following are forms of options except

A) convertible bonds
B) callable bonds
C) warrants
D) mutual funds
E) none of the above

Question 20

A call option priced at $2 with a stock price of $30 and an exercise price of $35 allows the holder to buy the stock at

A) $2
B) $32
C) $33
D) $35
E) none of the above

Question 21

An out-of-the-money call option has an exercise price less than the stock price.

Question 22

The total number of long option contracts outstanding at any given time is called the

A) market cap
B) sum options outstanding (SOO)
C) option wealth outstanding (OWO)
D) open interest
E) none of the above

Question 23

The over-the-counter options market is much larger than the exchange-listed options market.

Question 24

The Put and Call Brokers and Dealers Association created the first organized options exchange.

Question 25

In which city did organized option markets originate?

A) New York
B) Chicago
C) Philadelphia
D) San Francisco
E) none of the above

Question 26

Exercise prices are set in $5 increments for options on exchanges.

Question 27

Exchange-listed options expire on the Saturday following the third Friday of the month.

Question 28

Who determines whether options on a company's stock will be listed?

A) the clearing house
B) Securities Exchange Commission
C) the company
D) the exchange
E) none of the above

Question 29

All of the options on Microsoft comprise an option class.

Question 30

Position limits are restrictions on the number of transactions an investor can execute on a given day.

Question 31

An order that specifies a maximum price to pay if buying is a

A) stop order
B) market order
C) limit order
D) all or none order
E) none of the above

Question 32

Option traders incur which of the following types of costs?

A) margin requirements
B) taxes
C) stock trading commissions
D) a and b
E) a, b and c

Question 33

This individual maintains and attempts to fill public option orders but does not disclose them to others.

A) liquidity provider
B) board broker
C) order book official
D) registered option trader
E) none of the above

Question 34

What amount must a call writer pay if a cash-settled index call is exercised?

A) difference between the index level and the exercise price
B) exercise price
C) difference between the exercise price and the index level
D) index level
E) none of the above

Question 35

The AT&T October puts are an option series.

Question 36

The exercise price is also called the striking price.

Question 37

What intermediary guarantees an option writer's performance?

A) credit worthiness rating company
B) brokerage
C) good-till-canceled order
D) clearinghouse
E) none of the above

Question 38

"Wal-Mart calls" are an example of

A) an option series
B) an option class
C) an option grade
D) a and b
E) none of the above

Question 39

A put option increases in value when the stock price decreases.

Question 40

Suppose you hold a call option. The stock price has recently been increasing-making your call option more valuable. Through what process might you take advantage of the liquid nature of the options market?

A) offsetting order
B) contract reconciliation
C) mark to market order
D) settling up
E) none of the above

Question 41

A market maker always avoids the cost of the bid-ask spread.

Question 42

The majority of options exchanges in the U.S. are fully automated.

Question 43

Indices measuring options market activity are simple to construct and widely quoted.

Question 44

Exercise limits are restrictions on the number of options that can be exercised by an investor in a given day or series of days.

Question 45

Index options have less volume than stock options.

Question 46

Options traders who hold their positions for very short periods of time are called position traders.

Question 47

Option commissions are set by the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

Question 48

Over-the-counter options dealers do not have to be members of an options exchange.

Question 49

The Options Clearing Corporation guarantees the obligations of traders on options exchanges.

Question 50

The spread between the bid price and the ask price is a transaction cost to the option trader.

Question 51

The number of option contracts outstanding at any given time is called the open interest.

Question 52

CBOE option market makers are also called liquidity providers.

Question 53

A market maker is an options trader who buys and sells options off of the exchange floor.

Question 54

The order book official executes limit order option trades for the general public.

Question 55

The bid price is the price paid to buy an option from a market maker.

Question 56

An order placed by an investor for the broker to buy an option at the best available price is called a market order.

Question 57

Over-the-counter options are not subject to default.

Question 58

Most investors close their positions by exercising their options.

Question 59

Offsetting an over-the-counter option contract cancels both contracts.

Question 60

The options market is regulated by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

Question 61

A call option to buy euros expressed in $/€ is equivalent to a put option to sell dollars expressed in €/$.

Question 62

An investor who is long an over-the-counter call option is exposed to the risk that the call writer will default on her obligations should the call option end up in-the-money.

Question 63

Exercising a stock put option means the put seller must sell stock at the stated strike price.

Question 64

On the CBOE, option tables represent each option with a series of letters and number, such as, MSFT\12B17\20.0. The last number represents the calendar date, the 20^th of the month in this example.

Question 65

Again, on the CBOE, option tables represent each option with a series of letters and number, such as, MSFT\12B17\20.0. The middle letter represents the calendar month and whether it is a call or put.