ES Emini Trading (SP 500)

ES Emini Futures - Leader of the Pack
The ES Emini contract IS the alpha dog of the index futures trading world making them the most utilized by Emini traders. Introduced in 1997 as a scaled down version of the larger S&P futures contract, it has allowed many people to trade futures that otherwise couldn’t afford to trade index futures. Traded electronically, traders can easily access the S&P future markets through their trading platform using high speed Internet connections, trading from the comfort of their home.

Check The Daily Emini Trading Room Results

The S&P futures are unique and are considered the alpha dog for good reason. The ring in the bull’s nose, wherever the S&P futures go, the cash market will follow. This is why even stock traders always keep one eye on the S&P futures because they are such a powerful indicator of market sentiment and direction. The wise trader, whether trading stocks or other emini contracts, will always keep the S&P ticker open on their trading platform.



S&P 500 Futures Contract 
First introduced by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the S&P 500 Emini is identified by the two letter identifier, ES. The ES Emini contract expires four times per calendar year: March, June, September and December. Depending on which month a individual contract expires, once the contract reaches it’s expiration, it ceases to have any value. All futures contracts will eventually lose all of their value, unlike stocks.
Each one of the four expiration months has it’s own unique letter to identify the expiry month. March is identified by the letter H, June is M, September is U and December is Z.
The year of expiration is also included in the identifier. For example, if a S&P Emini contract were set to expire in September of 2012, the symbol would be ESU12. ES to identify the type of contract, (S&P Emini), the year (2012) and the month of expiration (September). The ES Emini trades in quarter points with each quarter point worth $12.50 with one full point worth fifty dollars.

ES Emini Trading Tactics

The S&P Emini market is fluid with more than enough liquidity for a trader to make two, three or even more points on a daily basis. Trading more than one contract at a time can further increase the amount of profit on individual trades. However, trading more than one ES Emini contract as a beginner is not recommended, until the new emini trader has enough confidence and skill to increase the number of contracts.

Both emini day trading and emini scalping are employed by traders to capitalize on market moves. The ES emini futures market is an excellent venue for using both methodologies and is only dependant on whichever method is more comfortable for the individual trader.



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