Shape of call delta across stock prices
Question
Sketch how the delta of a European call varies with the current stock price, and describe the curve's key features.
Short answer
An S-shaped curve rising from to . In Black-Scholes , so it is near for deep out-of-the-money calls, near deep in the money, and steepest (largest gamma) close to the strike. As expiry approaches the S tightens toward a step at ; higher volatility flattens it.
Adapted from Crack, Heard on the Street, Q2.4, p.23; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.
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Open the worked solutionLessons behind this question
- Greeks and Numerical Sensitivities
- Derivation — From Binomial Trees to Black-Scholes in the Continuous Limit
- The Black-Scholes Formula Derived via Change of Measure
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