Call bounds in a three-outcome one-step model
Question
Rates are zero and a stock at can move in one step to , or . What can you say about the no-arbitrage price of a call struck at ?
Short answer
Only that it lies strictly between and . The market is incomplete: risk-neutral probabilities must satisfy , which forces , with . The call pays only in the up state, so its price can be anything in without arbitrage.
Adapted from Joshi, Denson & Downes, Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers, Q2.52, p.21; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.
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