A Characteristic Analysis and Countermeasure Study of the Hedging of Listed Companies in China Stock Markets

Due to COVID-19, the risk of price volatility in commodity and equity markets increases. The research and application of hedging is the most effective way to reduce the market risk. Hedging is a risk management strategy employed to offset losses in investments by taking an opposite position in a related asset. We use K-means and hierarchical clustering methods to cluster companies and futures products respectively, and analyze the relationship between the number of hedging firms, regional distribution, nature of firms, capital distribution, company size, profitability, number of local Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs), regional location, and listing time. The study shows that listed companies with large scale and good profitability invest more money in hedging, while state-owned enterprises' participation in hedging is more likely to be affected by the company size and the number of local futures commission merchants, and private enterprises are more likely to be affected by the company profitability and the regional location. Listed companies are more willing to choose long-listed and mature futures products for hedging. We also provide policy advice based on our conclusion. So far, there is no study on the characteristics of hedging. This paper fills the gap. The results provide a basis and guidance for people's investment and risk management. Using clustering analysis in hedging study is another innovation of this paper.