What do you call a stock market speculator?

Derivatives are nicely suited to speculate on the prices of commodities and other financial assets or on market variables like interest rates, market indices etc. Generally speaking, it is much less expensive to create a speculative position using derivatives than by trading the underlying commodity or asset. As a result, the potential returns are that much greater.

A classic case is the trader who believes that the increasing demand or reduced supply is likely to boost the price of oil. Since it would be too expensive to buy and store actual oil, the trader buys exchange traded futures (ETFs) contracts agreeing to take delivery of oil on a future delivery date at a fixed price. If the oil prices rise in the market, the value of the futures contract will also rise and they can be sold back into the market at a profit.

In fact, if the trader buys and then sells a futures contract before they reach the delivery date, the trader never has to take any delivery of actual oil. The profit from the whole trade is realized in cash without buying anything