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Call delta when the stock pays a continuous dividend

Question

A stock pays a continuous dividend yield qq and otherwise follows Black-Scholes dynamics. Derive ∂C/∂S\partial C/\partial S for a European call on it with strike KK and time to expiry τ\tau.

Short answer

Δ=e−qτN(d1)\Delta=e^{-q\tau}N(d_1), where d1=ln⁡(S/K)+(r−q+σ2/2)τστd_1=\frac{\ln(S/K)+(r-q+\sigma^2/2)\tau}{\sigma\sqrt\tau}. The price is C=Se−qτN(d1)−Ke−rτN(d2)C=Se^{-q\tau}N(d_1)-Ke^{-r\tau}N(d_2). Differentiating, the terms from ∂d1/∂S\partial d_1/\partial S and ∂d2/∂S\partial d_2/\partial S cancel because Se−qτn(d1)=Ke−rτn(d2)Se^{-q\tau}n(d_1)=Ke^{-r\tau}n(d_2), leaving only e−qτN(d1)e^{-q\tau}N(d_1).

Adapted from Zhou, A Practical Guide to Quantitative Finance Interviews, sec. 6.2 The Greeks, 'Delta A', p.148; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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