someone please answer these simple questions. if you make one point on one emini contract how much profit is that before commissions? what is the dollar value of one contract? i guess you only need $2k to trade one contract. thank you.
trade872, 1 point on the e-mini s&p is $50, 1 point on the e-mini nasdaq is $20. The dollar value of the contract is calculated by multiplying 50 x the index value for the e-mini s&p, or 20 x the index value for the e-mini nasdaq. For example: if the e-mini s&p is trading at 890.00, then the dollar value would be 890 x 50 = $44,500. If you had a portfolio or mutual fund that mirrored the s&p 500 and had a value of $44,500, you could hedge it by shorting 1 e-mini s&p contract (i.e. for every dollar lost in your fund, you would make one dollar on your short position in the futures). The amount needed in your account for margin will depend on whether you hold positions overnight or daytrade, and will also fluctuate with volatility in the market. $2,000 per contract sounds about right for daytrading, but you should contact your broker for the exact amounts.
SP is 5 times the contract size of ES. SP is 250xIndex Minimum tick size in SP is .10 index pt or $25.00 Minimum tick size in ES is .25 index pt. or $12.50
I was testing my IB defaults and i accidentally placed an order for the ES sep futures. I immediately got filled at 883.00 after market. I tried to cancel the order instead my mouse button was on transmit rather than on cancel. Too many beers I guess. Now I just got filled for a sale at 884.25. This is my first futures trade. Now please help me . How do I enter this into my MS money program, and how do I account for it on my taxes. I feel screwed. Bert
Your successful 1.25pt. "scalp" used the same exact random criteria as aphie!! If you can get drunk every day after the close, average 1.25 pts. a day on your "sure fire" scalping system, (maybe scale down your expectation to only 1pt. per day), and double your size every few grand, you will beat Sabena and aphie to Larry Williams $1,000,000.
u130747, You are supposed to get drunk after a losing day -- not before. But hey, congrats on the win! Pabst, Thanks for the kind words. aphie
I was testing my new Universal account out at IB yesterday and unknowingly shorted 1 contract of the ES in the morning. The software I had didn't appear to work and didn't show a position (5 months out of date). I reinstalled the software that evening and found I was down $475 for the day. I covered it about 10:00 pm for the loss on Globex. Of course this morning I would have been profitable had I held onto it. Although the Universal account appears to be great, it's expensive so far.
DDEFINA: sorry to hear about your mistake. i am curious though. i never log out of IB until i examine my execution page. is that something you do not do or was it just a careless mistake???