Futures Trading Blog

IraEpsteinFutures asked:

Futures Trading, Online Trading, Stock Indexes Review, Sales: 800-284-3010

DADDIO

Olivia asked:


Early in my investing career I quickly lost $118,000 in every market you can think of. Since then I have learned how to read financial reports, understand the effects of geoploitical situations throughout the world and I have extensively studied technical analysis (patterns, support/resistance, indicators based on oscillations candlesticks).

I’m a CFP, and have been very successful in the past two years. I have netted a 8637% gain on my personnel investment. I rarely hold an investment more then 20 trading days and quickly drop any investment where I had an incorrect read.

Option trades –
SIRI Dec. 2005 CALLS +16%
RJR Dec. 2005 PUTS -7%
SIRI Jan. 2006 CALLS +38%
MXO Oct. 2005 PUTS +16%
MXO Mar. 2006 CALLS +645%
JCP Jan. 2007 PUTS 13%
SWFT Oct. 2006 PUTS +45%
LCC Oct. 2006 PUTS +73%
EK Jan. 2007 PUTS +144%
PNRA Jan. 2007 PUTS +86%
OMX Nov. 2006 PUTS +40%
OMX Nov. 2006 PUTS +65%
OMX Nov. 2006 CALLS +53%
XMSR Jan. 2007 PUTS +191%
BAB Dec. 2006 PUTS +37%
MTZ Oct. 2006 CALLS +26
Well I have enough capital, I’m sure. But, I want to help others by creating my own fund specifically in options and futures.

ZUMSTEIN

Venator P asked:


Does anyone know of any Day Trading Apprenticeships in Chicago?
Does anyone know of any Day Trading Apprenticeships in Chicago?
+Open to wide variety of instruments including forex, equities, futures.
+One year till College graduation, would like to be employed as apprentice till graduation.
+$0 Investment Capital Requirements
+$0 Training or related fees (paid training optimally)

ARRAMBIDE

DK asked:


The futures market doesn’t seem to get any good press. It seems most investors are very much anit-future trading. I am interested in the futures market, but I would prefer to test my skill level, research ability, and just plain guts before I jump in.

Are there any ‘paper trading’ sources one can use? Or any free ‘fake’ accounts one can get started with?

Thanks,
DK

SIEG

am asked:


Is this a set amount of time?

WIESE

greenfrog112 asked:


Let’s say I am trading crude oil futures, and I accidentally held a contract past expiration. What would happen? I can’t actually take delivery of 1,000 barrels of oil!

Conversely, what would happen if I held a sort contract passed expiration? I don’t have 1,000 barrels of oil to deliver!

Would these situation be settled in cash? What exactly would happen?

Thanks!

LAMARCHE

sri2014 asked:


i want to develop a site of forex and trading related informations can someone tell me how to start with http://www.futures-trading-brokers.blogspot.com/

MOWBRAY

Markus Heitkoetter asked:


Futures trading is amongst today’s most highly leveraged, potentially profitable financial pursuits. It allows traders to build up their trading accounts fast with only a small amount of capital at their disposal. However, if you take futures trading lightly, you could also wipe out your trading account in a matter of days. Therefore, it’s crucial to your trading success that you diligently educate yourself in futures trading, and trade only with a proven and solid trading strategy.

If you’re new to futures trading, it can be especially difficult to decide WHICH contracts to actually trade. There are a lot of options! The best approach would probably be to start with the more popular commodities, until you have a better idea of which contracts most fit you and your trading.

The more you know about the basics of futures contracts and commodities like this, the better your chances of trading success. With any type of online trading, there are a number of factors that you should take into account. Here are four of those factors, along with an assessment of how futures trading measures up:

1.) The Capital Requirements

In order to trade a futures contract, you need to deposit an initial investment into your futures trading account. Currently, brokers require a minimum of $5,000, though some brokers are willing to open an account with as little as $2,000.

2.) The Leverage

The leverage depends on the futures contract you’re trading and the contract value. Each contract requires an initial margin. Here are some examples for the most popular contracts (as of January 2008):

E-mini S&P – as low as $500 to trade a $75,000 contract

(Leverage 1:150)

E-mini NQ – as low as $500 to trade a $45,000 contract

(Leverage 1:90)

E-mini Gold – as low as $400 to trade a $27,000 contract

(Leverage 1:67.5)

3.) Liquidity

Again, the liquidity depends on the futures contract you are trading. Here are some numbers:

E-mini S&P: around 2,500,000 contracts/day

E-mini NQ: around 500,000 contracts/day

Euro Currency: around 200,000 contract/day

As you can see, the liquidity varies, and therefore you MUST check the volume of the futures market you are planning to trade.

4.) Volatility

You will find decent volatility in the futures markets. The high leverage will allow you to make decent profits, even if the markets move just a few points. Here are some average daily moves:

E-mini S&P: between 1% and 3% per day

E-mini NQ: between 1% and 2.5% per day

E-mini Gold: between 1% and 2.5% per day

Euro Currency: between 0.5% and 1.5% per day

Keep in mind that these moves represent approximately $500-$1,500 per day for each contract traded.

Conclusion:

Futures markets can be very liquid, and the capital requirements are as low as $2,000. The leverage is at least 1:50, and there’s decent volatility.

Futures markets are regulated and the spread is typically 1 tick (minimum movement of the contract). Commissions are usually below $5 per transaction. It’s no surprise that many day traders choose the futures market for their trading endeavors.



OVERBY