LemonTrades
Sign in Get started
All posts

The best futures to trade

The most traded futures contracts, what a move in each one is worth right now, the micro versions for smaller accounts, and how to pick the right one for you.

LemonTrades·Guides
A grid of futures contracts, each with a small price chart.

The best futures to trade are the ones that trade the most, move enough to be worth trading, and come in a size your account can handle. A handful of contracts tick all three boxes. Here they are, with what a 1% move in each is worth today.

The most traded futures, live

MarketPriceToday1% move: standard1% move: micro
S&P 500ES, $50 a point · micro MES, $5– –$–$–
Nasdaq 100NQ, $20 a point · micro MNQ, $2– –$–$–
Dow JonesYM, $5 a point · micro MYM, $0.50– –$–$–
Russell 2000RTY, $50 a point · micro M2K, $5– –$–$–
WTI crude oilCL, 1,000 barrels · micro MCL, 100$– –$–$–
Brent crude oilB / BZ, 1,000 barrels$– –$––
Natural gasNG, 10,000 MMBtu$– –$––
GoldGC, 100 oz · micro MGC, 10 oz$– –$–$–
SilverSI, 5,000 oz · micro SIL, 1,000 oz$– –$–$–
BitcoinBTC, 5 bitcoin · micro MBT, 0.1$– –$–$–

Front-month futures prices, delayed about 10 minutes and updated every minute; Bitcoin is the spot price. A 1% move is the contract’s value times 1%. Contract sizes are CME’s (Brent also trades on ICE).

What makes a future good to trade

  • Liquidity. Lots of buyers and sellers mean tight spreads and fills close to your price. The stock index contracts and crude oil are the busiest in the world.
  • The right size. One E-mini S&P contract moves by thousands of dollars on a 1% day. The micro version is a tenth of that, which suits most smaller accounts.
  • Movement you understand. Trade markets whose drivers you follow: rates and earnings for indices, inventories and OPEC for oil, the Fed and the dollar for gold.
  • Hours that fit your day. Most CME futures trade from Sunday at 6:00 PM to Friday at 5:00 PM ET, with a one-hour break each afternoon.

The contracts, one by one

  • E-mini and Micro E-mini S&P 500 (ES, MES): the most traded equity futures. A 0.25-point tick is $12.50 on ES, $1.25 on MES. Moves on earnings, the Fed and US data.
  • Nasdaq 100 (NQ, MNQ): tech-heavy and more volatile than the S&P. A tick is $5 on NQ, $0.50 on MNQ.
  • Crude oil (CL, MCL): the busiest commodity contract. A one-cent tick is $10 on CL, $1 on MCL. Watch the EIA report on Wednesdays at 10:30 AM ET. More in Brent futures explained.
  • Gold (GC, MGC): a 10-cent tick is $10 on GC, $1 on MGC. Moves on rates, the dollar and fear. See the future for gold.
  • 10-year Treasury note (ZN): one of the most traded contracts of all, moving on inflation and the Fed. A tick is $15.625.
  • Euro FX (6E, M6E): the euro against the dollar. A tick is $6.25 on 6E, $1.25 on the micro.
  • Natural gas (NG): big, fast moves on weather and storage data. Not for beginners.
  • Bitcoin (BTC, MBT): trades on CME with the same hours as other futures, even though bitcoin itself never closes.

Best futures for beginners

Start with a micro contract in a market you already follow: Micro E-mini S&P (MES) or Micro Gold (MGC) are common first choices. They trade the same way as the full contracts at a tenth of the size, so mistakes cost a tenth as much. Practice first in our free trade simulator.

Know the risk

Futures are leveraged. You only put up a margin deposit, a small part of the contract’s value, but you gain or lose on the whole thing. The table above shows how much a 1% move is worth; a bad day can be several times that. Exchanges raise margins when markets get wild, and big releases like CPI and the jobs report can move prices past your stop. Check the economic calendar before you trade, and choose your broker carefully: here’s how.

Education, not financial advice. Futures trading is risky and you can lose more than your deposit. Contract specs are set by the exchanges and can change. See our disclaimer.

Keep reading

More posts