How it works
When an investor buys or short-sells stock on margin, an open position is created at that point. The position remains open until it is settled, either through an offsetting trade (selling a long position, or buying back a short position) or through delivery settlement using the underlying stock.
Points to note while holding an open position
While an open position is held, its unrealized gain or loss changes daily along with the stock price. In margin trading, if the market moves against the position, a decline in the maintenance margin ratio may result in a demand for additional margin (a margin call), and system margin trading also has a repayment deadline that should be kept in mind.