In finance, a futures transaction is a standardized legal arrangement to purchase or sell something with a preset price in the future, between two parties never known to each other, usually involving commodities or certain financial instruments. The tradable asset traded is typically a security or an item. Futures markets are increasing daily in volume, due to the large number of buyers who rely on the futures market to deliver a contract when they need it, such as when making investments.
One type of futures contract trading is stock exchange.
This involves buying and selling shares among companies; these contracts are generally sold under “puts” and “calls.” Futures contract trading also occurs on the margin, which are increased by an initial margin deposit, and which is used to make profits when a company is making a profit on its stock purchases; when the price is higher than the amount of the initial margin deposit, a margin call is made.
Other types of futures trading involve commodity contracts like oil, gold, silver, wheat, pork bellies, etc. Commodity futures trading is done through brokers who buy and sell contracts on certain commodities at determined prices at specific dates in the future. The commodities are usually bought and sold as “spot” contracts, meaning that they are granted for immediate delivery. When the price of the commodity reaches a certain level, the buyer decides to exercise his right to sell the contract for cash settlement.
Most futures exchanges provide services such as online access, order execution, real-time pricing, and communications.
Futures exchanges are highly competitive. Traders use the futures exchange market to establish and liquidate short positions, long positions, options, futures positions, commodity and bond exchanges, and commodity futures markets. The futures exchange is one of the largest and most liquid markets, with a daily trading volume estimated at more than 3 trillion dollars.
To be successful in futures trading, you must first determine what type of trader you want to be by determining your risk tolerance, liquidity, and ability to obtain additional funds.
Risk tolerance, in this case, refers to your ability to absorb losses that may result from unfavorable market trends or conditions. Your liquidity is how easily you would be able to liquidate a given position without negatively impacting your other financial obligations. Finally, your ability to raise funds is an indication of how well you will perform in terms of securing your underlying asset.
One example of an equity index futures trading strategy is the purchase and sale of e-mini 500 options. These particular futures contracts allow traders to speculate on the movements of a particular stock, the underlying instrument, or index over the long or short term. By paying the appropriate initial margin, investors can gain some exposure to the changing value of the underlying asset. These particular futures contracts are much less expensive to maintain over the long term compared to stock market investment, and there is some degree of economic stability associated with stock-based futures contracts. The e-mini 500 is currently one of the least volatile markets, which may help to make the long-term approach to futures trading more attractive for most traders.
