Consider a hypothetical example in which a stock index is at 20,000 and one futures contract with a contract unit of 1,000 times the index is bought. It gives a 2 million yen profit if the index rises to 22,000 and a 2 million yen loss if it falls to 18,000.
Osaka Exchange lists two roles that speculators play in the market: they improve price discovery, and they take on the risk that hedgers want to transfer.