futures contract

Other forms: futures contracts

Definitions of futures contract

1. noun

   an agreement to buy or sell a specific amount of a commodity or financial instrument at a particular price on a stipulated future date; the contract can be sold before the settlement date
   types:

   stock-index futures

   a futures contract based on a stock index; a bet on the future price of the indexed group of stocks

   type of:

   derivative, derivative instrument

   a financial instrument whose value is based on another security