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Quick approximation for an at-the-money call price

Question

A European call on a non-dividend stock is struck at the current price SS. Interest rates are near zero and the time to expiry TT is short. Give a simple approximation for the call value in terms of SS, σ\sigma and TT.

Short answer

C≈0.4 σSTC\approx0.4\,\sigma S\sqrt{T}. With r≈0r\approx0 and S=KS=K, d1,2=±12σTd_{1,2}=\pm\tfrac12\sigma\sqrt T are small, so N(d1)−N(d2)≈σT n(0)=σT/2πN(d_1)-N(d_2)\approx\sigma\sqrt T\,n(0)=\sigma\sqrt T/\sqrt{2\pi}, and 1/2π≈0.41/\sqrt{2\pi}\approx0.4.

Adapted from Zhou, A Practical Guide to Quantitative Finance Interviews, sec. 6.2 The Greeks, 'Delta D', p.151; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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