The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is the source of all Dow-derived future contracts (CME). They are traded on the CME Globex market nearly 24 hours a day, from Sunday afternoon to Friday afternoon, and they expire quarterly (March, June, September, and December).
- The minimum tick in the E-mini Dow futures (ticker: YM) contract is 1 index point = $5.00. While performance bond requirements vary by broker, the CME demands $3,550 in performance bond and $3,200 in continuing equity to retain the position.
When do the Dow futures begin trading on Sunday?
Trading can, however, take place outside of regular stock market hours. On days when there is a regular session, for example, there is “pre-market” trading, which can begin as early as 4 a.m. and continue until the market opens at 9:30 a.m. There are also “after-hours” seminars, which take place between 4 and 8 p.m.
Instead of utilizing an intermediary, these trades are conducted on “electronic communications networks,” or ECNs, which connect buyers and sellers directly. Previously, this type of trading was only available to huge institutional buyers, but today, brokers like Fidelity and Charles Schwab make it possible.
On Saturdays and Sundays, there are no regular stock trading hours. If you see a headline on a Sunday night indicating stock futures are down, it’s because most futures contracts (including equity futures, but also oil, agricultural products, commodities, and other investments) start trading at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
Is the futures market now active?
Each form of futures contract agricultural, energy, interest rate, equities, and so on has its own trading hours, which are sometimes dictated by the underlying products’ or securities’ market hours. Depending on the commodity, most futures contracts begin trading on Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern time and close on Friday afternoon between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Eastern. At the end of each business day, trading will be suspended for 30 to 60 minutes. Traders free up their profits for the day or make any required margin deposits during this time as contract values are marked to market.
When do the Dow futures expire?
Trading Hours for the BIG DOW ($25) Futures All times are in Central Standard Time (CT) Monday through Friday: 5:00 p.m. previous day 4:15 p.m.; 3:15 p.m. 3:30 p.m. trading halt
Are futures traded around the clock?
- Stock index futures, such as the S&P 500 E-mini Futures (ES), reflect expectations for a stock index’s price at a later date, based on dividends and interest rates.
- Index futures are two-party agreements that are considered a zero-sum game because when one party wins, the other loses, and there is no net wealth transfer.
- While the stock market in the United States is most busy from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, stock index futures trade almost continuously.
- Outside of normal market hours, the rise or fall in index futures is frequently utilized as a predictor of whether the stock market will open higher or lower the next day.
- Arbitrageurs use buy and sell programs in the stock market to profit from price differences between index futures and fair value.
Is the stock market predicted by futures?
Stock futures are more of a bet than a prediction. A stock futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a stock at a specific price at a future date, independent of its current value. Futures contract prices are determined by where investors believe the market is headed.
When do Nasdaq futures begin trading?
E-mini Nasdaq futures trade on the CME Globex trading platform nearly 24 hours a day, starting at 6:00 p.m. All times are in U.S. Eastern Time (ET) until 5:00 p.m. The following afternoon, U.S. ET.
Is there a Dow futures ticker?
The CME E-mini Dow $5 Futures and Options, ticker symbol YM, are one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to get Dow Jones Industrial Average market exposure.