Un peu d'infos concernant les FUTURES

Article by Sam Seiden

There are many quality futures markets around the world. Below are some but not all of the Futures markets.

 

For active traders, the favorite and most popular futures markets, however, are the Equity index futures. While they all move in the same direction, there are differences in them that allow traders to match these markets to their personalities. Below is a small portion of that information in hopes that you will make the safe and beneficial choice for you should you ever decide to trade these markets.

What are the Equity index Futures?

Equity index futures are designed to trade in relation to a specific equity index which are comprised of a basket of securities. These products allow traders to speculate and hedge risk associated with these markets. Why Equity index Futures?

The following is a unique combination of features that offers retail and institutional traders fantastic opportunity:

• Significant Tax Benefit
• Advantages of Stocks & Mutual funds combined
• Lower Margin costs
• Low Commissions
• Highly Liquid Investments
• Huge Volume
• Transparency
• Near 24-Hour Trading (except for a 15 minute period for settlement)
• Hedging
• Portfolio Diversification
• Lower risk than stocks (reduced overnight gap risk)

The Markets:

S&P Mini

• Very popular
• Highest volume / Most liquid
• $50.00 per point per contract (Example: If you buy 1 S&P Emini Futures contract at 1205.00 and sell it at 1210.00, you made $250.00)
• Represents a basket of stocks (S&P 500)
• Very orderly market because of its high volume
• Ideal for the more conservative trader

NASDAQ Mini

• Solid volume
• $20.00 per point per contract
• Represents a basket of NASDAQ stocks
• Orderly market but larger swings partly because of lower volume than the S&P

DOW Mini

• Low volume which means large swings in price, very volatile
• $5.00 per point per contract but don't let that fool you, it is volatile
• Represents a basket of Dow stocks
• Because of low volume, you may consider doing your analysis for this market on the S&P chart

Russell

• Low volume
• Popular because of its price point, this is not a market for conservative personalities
• $100.00 per point per contract
• Represents a basket of Russell stocks
• The combination of low volume and the high price point means a big money, fast moving market (not for the beginner)

DAX

• Similar to the Russell
• Lower volume
• Traded on the Eurex Exchange
• 25.00 Euros per full point, per contract
• This is a big money market that can really move so beginners beware

FESX

• Saving one of the best for last…
• Super high volume on a 100% electronic exchange (Eurex)
• 10.00 Euros per point, per contract
• For those in Europe, this is a great market to trade