This article is the fourth in my semi-automated stock trading system series, focusing on options-related features and strategy changes. Recently my main energy has gone into options automation and strategy optimization. This post won’t detail options basics — it suits readers who already have some options background. If you’re not yet familiar with options, I suggest checking introductory material first; I’ll also write a dedicated post on options basics and strategies later.
The Current State of China’s Options Market
When many friends hear “options”, they often don’t believe similar leveraged tools exist domestically. In fact, China has not only commodity options but also a fairly mature financial options market, especially index options. For specific rules see CITIC Securities’ official trading rules.
I personally focus mainly on options of ChinaAMC STAR 50 ETF (588000.SH). The reason for choosing this underlying is simple: prices are easy to compute — each contract is about 10,000 yuan — and STAR Market stocks have higher volatility, very suitable for practicing options strategies.
Currently mainstream domestic options trading software like Huidian and Tongdaxin have limited support for custom indicators and strategies. To implement automated trading, you basically have to develop programs yourself. After talking with brokers I learned that enabling API permissions usually requires meeting thresholds of 1 million yuan in capital and 500 options contracts traded — I’m still working toward that goal.
T-Shaped Quotes and Data Acquisition
The T-shaped quote table is the basic tool of options trading and the first step of my automation program. Only with real-time access to options quotes and holdings data can subsequent analysis and strategy execution be possible.
Many options strategies’ analysis and decisions are computed in real time from the current T-shaped quotes.
Holdings Data Parsing
Since there’s no open API yet, my options holdings data comes mainly from broker-exported holdings files (CSV format). The program automatically parses these files, generating standardized holdings data for subsequent analysis and strategy management.
In the system I can customize and select corresponding strategy combinations based on actual holdings.
Maintaining and Managing Options Strategies
Based on currently held options contracts, I can customize common strategy combinations — e.g. bull spreads, bear spreads and other basic strategies — and flexibly combine more complex ones. Lacking an API, strategy maintenance currently relies mainly on manual operation. Fortunately my capital scale isn’t yet large enough to need frequent position adjustments, so this approach is acceptable for now.
Quote Monitoring and Strategy Notifications
After strategies are maintained, the system automatically monitors contract quote changes based on current holdings and strategies, judging whether buy/sell operations are needed. Note that actual order placement still must be done manually in broker software; the system sends notifications via Telegram, reminding me to operate in time.
For an account on the scale of a hundred-something thousand yuan, this semi-automation has already greatly reduced the pressure of watching the market and computing. Just wait for the program’s notifications — no need to constantly follow quotes or manually compute profit and loss.
Summary and Outlook
Options trading differs greatly from stocks, with more to learn and master. Currently I mainly use options to obtain stable cash flow and hedge part of my stock positions’ risk. Options strategies are rich and varied; the higher the automation, the better the efficiency and returns. Limited by API thresholds, my system cannot yet achieve full automation — only price reminders and partial strategy maintenance. I hope to meet broker API requirements in the future and achieve truly automated options trading.
If you’re interested in options automation, strategy development and similar topics, feel free to leave a comment!