I have been trading equities for the past 3 years and have been profitable. I have decided to give futures trading a try and just opened an account with IB. I am planning to start trading the e-mini s&P. The question I have is what is the difference between the Globex and the regular CME contracts? Can I initiate a trade in the evening hours on Globex and closeout the trade during the day at the CME?
Southpaw, The answer is "YES". Your broker will receive the order and execute it the same way, day or evening. It doesn't matter "where" it is being traded. It is an electronic market, so every trade is performed on some supercomputer sitting in a vault somewhere, going 24/7 (scary thought, isn't it?). A better option than calling in your order is having an online account, where you can place your order on the internet and get your fills. The fills are instantaneous when your price has been hit, so there is no waiting around for your fill. If you're a newbie and want to trade the mini-S&P, buyer beware! It's full of scalpers. You will be hacked up, stomped on, and spit out unless you have nerves of steel or a really solid trading plan. I've done pretty well in it lately, but that wasn't the case in the past. I have very strict entry rules and I'm only in 30 minutes tops. The NQ is probably better for you. It is much more smoothe. The problem is that there are way too many people trading the ES contract. I'm hoping the introduction (finally!) of single stock futures will attract a big following, thinning out the ES and NQ markets a bit.