Futures for American indices online. US indices futures
On American exchanges futures contracts are being traded a large number of various stock indices. All these contracts are of a settlement type, that is, when the delivery date arrives, a financial settlement occurs at the current price of the asset, as a result of which profits or losses are reflected in the traders’ accounts. The most popular indices that are actively traded on the US derivatives market are listed below.
S&P 500– an index of 500 famous securities national companies with large capitalization, traded on stock exchange NYSE, calculated by Standard & Poor's since 1957. This is the main indicator of the American stock market, well reflecting its dynamics. Futures for the S&P 500 index are traded on the CME exchange (contract size $250 x S&P 500, ticker SP). Mini- contracts quoted in dollars (size $50 x E-mini S&P 500, ticker ES) and euros (size 50? x E-mini S&P 500, ticker EME).
S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600- derivatives of the main S&P index, they consist of 400 securities of mid-cap companies and 600 securities of small-cap companies, respectively. The futures size for the first index is $500 x S&P MidCap 400 (ticker MD), for the second - $500 x S&P SmallCap 600 (ticker SMP). Mini-contracts with sizes of $100 x Index are listed under the stock tickers EMD and SMC. They are also traded on the CME.
NASDAQ 100– an index of 100 securities of the largest national and foreign companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Companies do not belong to the financial sector and are selected based on market capitalization. The index has been calculated since 1985. Futures for it are traded on the CME exchange under the ticker ND, its volume is $100 x NASDAQ-100. Mini futures ticker - NQ, size - $20 x E-mini NASDAQ-100.
DOW JONES Industrial Average– The DJIA index is a set of 30 largest American companies, “blue chips”. It is the progenitor of all American indices, although it no longer reflects the state of the economy very clearly. It was first counted by Charles Dow in 1896. Index futures trade on the CBOT under the ticker symbol DJ and are traded at $10 x DJIA. The mini futures size is $5 x Index and the ticker is YM.
Russell 2000 and Russell 1000- well-known indices reflecting the price of shares of two thousand companies with small capitalization and one thousand with large capitalization, respectively. The indices have been calculated since 1984 by Russell Investment Group. Mini-contracts for them are traded on the American branch of the ICE exchange, their tickers are TF and RF, the size is $100 x Index.
Several index futures are also traded on the exchanges, dedicated not to the stock market as a whole, but to certain sectors of the American economy. We will limit ourselves to listing them: E-mini NASDAQ Biotech (biotechnology, ticker BIO), S&P Financial SPCTR (finance, ticker FIN), S&P Technology SPCTR (high technology, ticker TEC), Dow Jones US Real Estate (real estate, ticker RX).
Hi all! TO today with concepts like " securities», « stock market", "stock exchange" and many similar ones our average person has to deal with almost from childhood. But most people are constantly wondering where to get additional income, and how to profitably invest your savings.
Did you know that the securities market and other financial instruments could be a great alternative bank deposits from the point of view of investing your funds? Ha-ha - you say, but I don’t understand anything about this, and therefore it won’t be difficult to burn out?! But also banking institutions become bankrupt, and, besides, it’s never too late to start discovering something new.
In order to start making money on speculative transactions or become a full-fledged exchange player, you must first understand what futures are. stock indices, and how it works.
It is generally accepted that the first futures were deferred contracts for the supply of agricultural products in the 19th century. Thus, both parties to the transaction could protect themselves to a certain extent from the risks of price changes. Once the benefits of using futures contracts were appreciated, they began to become more widespread.
And, if initially such transactions were made in relation to agricultural goods, then quite soon they began to be of a purely speculative nature. Gradually, they began to trade not only grain and meat on futures, but also conclude trades on precious metals and even forecast the weather(!).
This is a very liquid financial instrument, but it is not particularly stable and, therefore, is fraught with great risks for the investor. You can derive the following approximate definition of a futures, which will sound like this: “this is an obligation to buy or sell a certain asset in the future for a certain price.”
Each contract must specify the volume of delivery of goods, the execution date, as well as a price that suits both the buyer and the seller. In other words, the seller is now obligated to sell an asset, and the buyer is obligated to buy it in the future. What happens in case of non-compliance - you ask? The transaction is guaranteed by the exchange, which collects security deposits from both parties.
All such contracts are not traded on simple markets, but on special trading platforms- for example, commodity or stock.
How futures work and are used
What usually acts as an asset for which a futures contract is concluded:
- Commodities traded on exchanges
- Currency
- Securities
- Stock indices
- Interest rates
Before a certain future is put into circulation, the exchange sets its own rules for it, also called specifications. It specifies all contract indicators and the cost of the minimum price step. The gradual development of financial markets and modern online trading has led to the fact that the terms of a futures contract may not even require delivery of any commodity.
Such transactions are called settlement transactions: they imply that the financial result after the futures execution will be the difference between the price at the time of drawing up and the price on the execution date. For one of the parties it can be profitable, but the other can easily go bankrupt. The difference between the contract acquisition price and the price on each subsequent day is called the concept of “variation margin”. Essentially this is financial results, which is adjusted daily.
If the price of a particular futures increases on the execution date, it means that the buyer is the winner, because he purchased it earlier and for a smaller amount. If the price has fallen, it means that the seller can celebrate success. But the value of the assets may not change - in this case, both participants remain with their own. Experienced players and traders effectively use futures to make speculative profits.
You can read more about this type of derivative securities in.
The essence of stock indices
Now let's talk in more detail about the stock market, its indices, as well as what quotes for securities and other financial instruments are.
For example, the Dow Jones index has been calculated and used for more than 100 years and combines key American companies. It has the simplest calculation method and the highest speed of reaction to exchange rate fluctuations in stock prices. In Europe, their own indices are more common - CAC, DAX 30: shares of enterprises included in their calculation rotate on many world exchanges.
On the Russian stock exchange, other indicators are used - the so-called RTS and MICEX indicators (for which I use futures).
Exchange rates are set on currency exchanges. They are formed under the influence of supply and demand factors based on quotes between currencies. The quote, in turn, is influenced by indicators of the state of the economy in a particular country, political situation, signing major contracts, etc.
The main currency exchanges that “make the weather” on financial markets- This London Stock Exchange futures, Singapore, Amsterdam, Frankfurt stock exchange and a number of others.
If you are interested in this topic, then I described it in more detail on indexes.
Friends, there is no doubt that to make money on stock exchanges, you need not only to know key quotes and index values, but also to have impressive experience in this field. Read my publications regularly, and you can become a real guru in the global financial markets. See you soon!
P.S. If you are interested in the topic of futures and indices, I advise you to visit this free webinar, in which the famous trader Dmitry Mikhnov introduces beginners to the possibilities of making money on the Russian Stock Exchange. Very informative!
Most American stock exchanges trade stock index contracts. Often, investors prefer to work with American futures indices, since this is the most economical profitable option in comparison with other indices. Among the American indices, the most famous are: Dow Jones, P500 Index, NASDAQ 100 Index, Russell 2000 and Russell 1000.
List of the most popular American indices
SP500 index - this index includes five hundred of the most liquid companies in the world, whose shares are traded on the world-famous NYSE stock exchange. This sp500 index appeared on the stock exchange in 1957, thanks to active economic activity American company Standard & Poor's. The p500 index represents large capitalization companies. Futures on sp500 indexes with the ticker sp can be purchased on the CME exchange at a price of $250. Less a budget option – minimum contract for traders sp500 index futures with ticker ES for only $50.
The Dow Jones index is one of the most popular American indexes, thanks to which all others exist. He owes his appearance to Charles Dow. Futures for American indices are listed for sale on the CBOT Chicago Stock Exchange. Today, DOW includes more than thirty giant US companies and their shares, on which the entire economy of the country depends. As a rule, these companies are not permanent and may change. If previously Dow Jones included only industrial companies, now it has corporations covering absolutely different areas economy. The dow trading strategy is a profitable exchange instrument. Anyone who knows how to use it can make good money on their shares.
The NASDAQ 100 Index is a well-known American stock index that trades hundreds of stocks. 
the largest companies in the financial market. The NASDAQ 100 is sold on the world famous NASDAQ exchange. Due to volatility and protracted trends, NASDAQ 100 index futures are a very popular type of trading for speculators. In use since 1985, when 2 new indices were simultaneously introduced: NASDAQ-100 and NASDAQ Financial-100. It is one of the ten most liquid futures in the world.
The Russell 2000 and Russell 1000 are popular US stock indexes that trade shares of two thousand small-cap companies and a thousand large-cap companies. The indices are calculated by Russell Investment Group. Futures on the Russell 2000 and Russell 1000 indices can be purchased on the ICE exchange with tickers TF and RF for $100.
Futures covering major economic sectors
You can also purchase other index futures corresponding to various sectors of the economy on exchanges:
S&PFinancialSPCTR - financial sector futures with ticker FIN;
S&PTechnologySPCTR – futures of the high technology sector with the ticker TEC;
E-miniNASDAQBiotech – futures of the biotechnology sector with the ticker BIO;
Dow Jones USRealEstate is a US real estate futures with the ticker symbol RX.
The concept of stock index and futures
To track the price dynamics of the market of a group of companies and their shares of any direction, stock indices are quoted.
A stock (exchange) index is one of the main indicators of the dynamics of growth or decline of shares, as well as any other securities that carry a certain value for the company. One of the most important indicators of a stock index is its dynamics. Based on the increase or decrease in prices, certain conclusions can be drawn regarding general development any sector of the economy.
Futures are one of the types of exchange contracts for the sale of a specific type of stock, which can be reused in trading. These are certain financial instruments that set the price today for certain company assets that will be sold soon.
Often, stocks are traded on US stock markets in the form of index futures. Please note that high growth or sharp decline in stock indices makes it possible to track the position of dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of shares from its composition. Tracking property stock indices attracts Special attention trading participants due to high liquidity.
Stock exchanges and their functions
Stock exchanges are a market that trades various types valuable papers. A currency exchange is not included in this concept, since there are special motto exchanges for trading motto denominations various countries. Today there are about two hundred different stock exchanges in the world. However, the lion's share of transactions takes place in the world's largest stock exchange, New York.
Financial market concept
Futures markets are like a huge global auction, where buyers and sellers set prices for underlying stocks and financial assets. Main 
Participants in such trading are usually called hedgers and speculators. The difference is that speculators trade by taking advantage of buying and selling prices, while hedgers work to protect the underlying assets of their companies and try to prevent their prices from falling in the future.
Helpful advice! If you want to start trading futures on American indices, you should familiarize yourself in advance with issues related to saving your money, with options for action strategies, with possible risks financial fraud. In America, all rights of investing persons are protected thanks to the laws of the federal government and the rules of the organization of financial markets.
How to trade futures
Futures on various indices - the main trading occurs through hedging. Hedging is a trading operation, the main function of which is considered to be a warning against all kinds of losses when conducting other trading operations. The main purpose of hedging is to reduce risk. Sometimes this can be quite difficult.
One of the most difficult economic actions is that index futures are profitable to trade, but it always has high liquidity, which is why it attracts so many people. There is an opinion that futures are something complex by definition, but this is far from the case.
Understanding CFD
CFD is a type of simplified financial leverage that allows you to operate in the financial market online. Thanks to it, you can achieve financial benefits due to the price difference between buying and selling shares without leaving your home or office. You just need to choose the right strategy of action. CFD allows you to produce online a full range of financial transactions, benefiting from the right investments.
Thus, we come to the conclusion: most people believe that index futures trading is something incredibly difficult, but this is not entirely true. To own minimal concepts about the financial market, you need to familiarize yourself with some of the symbols of financial instruments. These concepts are simple and mean financial leverage, which can be used to set prices today for shares that will be sold in the future. The most popular futures for American indices are considered to be: Dow Jones, P500 Index, NASDAQ 100 Index, Russell 2000 and Russell 1000.
In financial markets, quotes for currencies, securities, stocks and other assets change daily. The difference between the purchase and sale prices is the earnings of market participants. By quotation we mean the price of a certain instrument, expressed in monetary units a certain state. You can track the dynamics of changes in quotes using online Forex charts.
What are currency pairs - direct and reverse quotes
The currency pair looks like this: the first is the base currency, and the second is the quote currency. For example, in the dollar-ruble pair, the American currency is the base one. But it is valued in the national currency of Russia - the ruble. Quotes can be either direct or reverse. In the first case, using national currency Foreign currency is valued. In reverse quotation, everything happens the other way around. In CFDs on oil, shares or indices, the price is indicated for 1 CFD.
CFD is a contract for difference. It allows the owner to buy and sell currencies and other instruments without physically owning the goods. In such cases, you can make money by trading without actually buying and selling goods. Thanks to CFDs, private investors can easily access the metals, indices and oil markets.
To make money on exchange rates, it is not enough to know the current quotes of the euro, dollar and other currencies. It is necessary to know the dynamics of changes in quotes over a certain period of time. This is why online Forex charts are compiled. With their help, you can track all changes in quotes over a month or more. After analyzing the information and drawing conclusions, you can start trading directly and make money.
A trader who encounters futures contracts for the first time will not be able to quickly match the designation codes of futures and their underlying assets.
The designation of futures contracts is always formed from Latin letters combined with Arabic numerals. These numbers indicate the month and year of expiration of the contract. It is these numbers that help an investor identify a particular futures. This is due to the fact that these contracts are derivatives market instruments that are limited in their circulation time.
How to decipher the symbol of a futures contract
The full name of the future is expressed as a combination of the letter of the instrument, the letter of the settlement month and the last digit of the year.
There are 3 values in total - C, M and Y.
- C— name of the asset
- M- month
- Y- year
For example, this is what the futures symbol looks like:
Example on ESH6
As an example, consider futures − E-mini S&P 500, which is indicated by the ticker ES. Let's take the March contract for 2019, it will look like this: ES+ letter N, meaning " March» + number 9 , since the year is 2019. Therefore, we will look for futures with the code " ESH9».
Futures codes by month
- January - F
- February - G
- March - H
- April - J
- May - K
- June - M
- July - N
- August – Q
- September - U
- October - V
- November - X
- December - Z
As you already understood from the example above, years are indicated by the last digit in the date:
- 2018 — 8
- 2019 — 9
- 2020 — 0
- 2021 — 1
In the domestic derivatives market, contracts are numbered in a similar way. Below we will show all the codes for futures contracts traded on GLOBEX(USA) and FORTS(Russia), without month and year data.
Traditionally, speculators prefer to work with currencies, but institutional investors cannot afford the risks that work on FOREX carries, so they use more reliable platforms, such as derivatives markets. That is why New York Stock Exchange derivatives instruments offers the widest variety of all known currency pairs.
Currency Futures Codes
6N– New Zealand dollar.
6R- Russian ruble.
6S- Swiss frank.
DX– United States dollar index.
6A- Australian dollar.
6V– British pound.
6C– Canadian dollar.
6J– Japanese yen.
6E– euro.
RF– euro against the Swiss franc.
R.P.– euro against the British pound.
R.Y.– euro against Japanese yen.
AU- AUD/USD
ED- euro-dollar
Eu- euro-ruble
G.U.- pound sterling – US dollar
Si- USD/RUB
Futures codes for hydrocarbons and their derivatives
The commodity market is most interesting to investors due to fuel assets, which rank second in polarity after its derivatives. First of all we're talking about about trading in oil futures of the mark. Having studied the letters of these tools, the trader will be able to easily customize the interface of his workplace, as well as program automatic trading systems, in which it is necessary to indicate exactly the ticker of the instrument being traded on the market for correct operation.
BR- Brent oil.
C.L.- Light grade oil.
UR- futures for URALS oil
WTI– WTI oil.
BUT– fuel for furnaces.
QM– mini contract for oil.
NG– flammable gas.
XRB– gasoline 95.
DZ- diesel fuel grade L-0.2-62 (GOST 305-82)
C.U.- grade A copper futures
G.D.- futures for refined gold bullion
P.D.- futures for refined palladium bullion
P.T.- futures for refined platinum bullion
One of the favorite instruments of commodity traders is grain futures, traded on GLOBEX And SWOT. allows you to capture tangible movements within the price corridor. At the same time, real producers and consumers can hedge their risks thanks to derivatives market instruments. Having studied the table of tickers for agricultural products, an investor can easily find the instrument he is interested in in the terminal interface.
Deciphering futures for agricultural products
ZC- corn.
ZL- soybean oil.
ZO– oats.
ZR– unpeeled rice.
ZS- soya beans.
ZW– wheat.
Futures codes for meat products
GF- beef.
HE- pork.
L.E.- live cattle.
Futures codes for world indices
Stock and derivatives market indices are designed to reflect the general mood of the market and free the investor from the monotonous task of researching the prices of each liquid share and perceiving the stock market as a whole. For large investors It will be interesting to be able to buy the entire index at once in the form of a futures contract, rather than choosing a specific block of shares.
- This significantly reduces the investor’s risks in terms of bankruptcy or takeover of specific corporations in whose securities the trader invested.
The index cannot go bankrupt or default.
If an issuer no longer meets the requirements for inclusion in the index, it can simply be replaced with a more suitable corporation. This greatly increases the stability and reliability of investments for the investor.
ES– mini-index on the S&P 500.
FCE– French CAC 40 index.
FDAX– German DAX index.
FESX– American Dow Jones 50 index.
FTSE– American index on Futsee 100.
HSI– Asian index HANG SENG.
MX- futures on the MICEX index
Rc- futures on the RTS index (Consumer goods and retail trade)
R.I.- futures on the RTS index
Rk- futures on the RTS index (Telecommunications)
Ro- futures on the RTS index (Oil and Gas)
R.S.- futures on the RTS Standard index
ER2– mini for ind. Russell 2000.
FESX– ind. Dow Jones Eurostock 50.
FSMI– ind. FSMI Switzerland.
HSI– ind. HANG SENG.
IBX– ind. IBEX 35.
M.C.– mini for ind. S&P 400
MDAX– ind. MDAX Germany.
NI– ind. NIKKEI 225 Japan.
NQ– mini M NASDAQ 100.
SPMIB– ind. weighted by capitalization of S&P and Borsa Italiana.
VIX– ind. stock market volatility.
YM– mini for ind. Dow Jones.
Metal Futures Codes
Metal derivatives are particularly interesting with contracts for gold, silver and platinum. Bank metal accounts are rarely used for investing in gold due to the high spread and risk of bankruptcy of the bank where the account is located. Buying physical gold requires significant storage costs. That is why investors are increasingly working with this valuable metal on the stock exchange through derivatives. Knowing tickers helps a trader to easily find the contract he is interested in and work with it.
ALUM- aluminum.
GOLD- gold.
HG- copper.
P.L.– platinum.
LEAD- lead.
NICK– nickel.
RA– palladium.
S.I.- silver.
ZINC– zinc.
Consumer goods
Consumer goods also have their own futures. Large retailers and manufacturers primarily work with these assets. Private investors or small funds prefer to avoid such niche derivatives market instruments. Working with these tools requires a complete understanding of the market for these products and their characteristics.
WITH- cocoa.
S.B.– raw sugar.
ST- cotton.
JO- Orange juice.
LB– sawn timber.
KC– Robusta coffee.
S.B.- sugar.
W– white sugar.
S.U.- futures for granulated sugar, manufactured in accordance with GOST 21-94
Futures codes for Russian shares
CH- ordinary shares of OAO Severstal
FS- ordinary shares of JSC FGC UES
GM- shares of MMC Norilsk Nickel
GZ- shares of OJSC Gazprom
HY- ordinary shares of JSC RusHydro
L.K.- shares of NK "LUKoil"
M.T.- ordinary shares of MTS OJSC
N.K.- ordinary shares of OAO NOVATEK
O.C.- ordinary shares of JSC OGK-3
O.D.- ordinary shares of JSC OGK-4
PZ- ordinary shares of OJSC Polyus Gold
RN- shares of OJSC NK Rosneft
RT- shares of OJSC Rostelecom
S.G.- preference shares OJSC "Surgutneftegas"
SP- preferred shares of Sberbank of Russia OJSC
S.R.- ordinary shares of Sberbank of Russia OJSC
TN- preferred shares of JSC Transneft
TT- ordinary shares of OAO Tatneft
UI- ordinary shares of OJSC Uralsvyazinform
UK- ordinary shares of OJSC Uralkali
VB- ordinary shares of JSC VTB Bank
Government bond futures
FGBS– SCHATZ German long-term state bonds for a period of 1.75 - 2.25 years.
FGBM– EUROBOBL German long-term state bonds for a period of 4.5 - 5.5 years.
FGBL– EUROBUND German long-term state bonds for a period of 8.5 - 10.5 years.
G.E.– 3 months interest rate for euro/dollar.
GLONG- state British securities.
ZB– 30-year-old Americans. bonds.
ZN– 10-year-old Amer. treasurer bonds.
MP- futures contract for three-month MosPrime loan rate; three-month MosPrime loan rate
O2- futures on “two-year” federal loans
O4- futures on “four-year” federal loan bonds
O6- futures on “six-year” federal loan bonds
O10- futures on “ten-year” federal loan bonds
O15- futures on “fifteen-year” federal loan bonds
As you can see, the first letters represent the beginning, or part of the asset name in English. Latin letters are abbreviated, which allows you to predict the name without referring to the table. Unfortunately, most of the above assets have liquidity only foreign markets. In Russia, futures for currencies, national indices and oil are considered interesting assets.
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