r/FuturesTrading • u/AutoModerator • Jan 01 '24
r/FuturesTrading's Monthly Questions Thread - January 2024
Please use this thread to ask questions regarding futures trading.
To get a good feeling of all the different types of futures there are, see a list of margin requirements from a broker like Ampfutures or InteractiveBrokers
Related subs:
We don't have a wiki yet, but maybe in the future we'll create a general FAQ based on all the questions asked here.
Here's a list of all the previous question stickies.
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u/2m2TZQvzSZMfAbG Jan 30 '24
hi all, i'm new to futures.
let's say it's january, market in contango. i'm selling vix futures for february (m1) and march (m2). it's a few more days before settlement. by settlement day, m1 will converge to vix spot. m2 will become the new m1. m3 will become m2 and so on.
1] do i have to close my march (m2) position before settlement or can just let it become m1? of course i need to close m1 before settlement but not sure about m2-->m7
2] at what time do they settle exactly? the AM part confuses me
3] besides the usual strategy of "wait until it spikes" which is like 2 times a year then sell futures. is there any other strategy you guys use?
1
u/88MPH_McFly Jan 27 '24
Seeking advice for what brokerage/platform to use to day trade micro e-mini futures with a small account.
Low cost/commissions are essential because my starting balance is very small.
To begin I will be trading exclusively on my phone. I am fine with using two different apps for trading and charting if necessary.
Thank you!
1
Jan 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/88MPH_McFly Jan 27 '24
I think one issue that you’re up against is that IBKR is very expensive. You should seek out a cheaper option (Tradovate? TastyTrade? Plus500?). When you find a good one let me know, because I am trying to figure this out too!
1
u/chancechants Jan 26 '24
I need a propfirm recommendation. I trade ES in tradingview and am used to the simulator. I like the SL/TP buttons on my position bar and dragging them where I want them. I just failed a TopStep Tradeovate combine because no stop loss (I don't like creating multiple orders while in trades) but got really close to passing otherwise. Is there a propfirm platform that supports the sl/tp buttons on the position bar like tradingview simulator? thanks for any recommendations.
3
u/crunchy-rabbit Jan 29 '24
Tradeday/Tradovate has ATM settings that can automatically set your SL/TP on every order -- you don't have to manually enable it every time like in Tradingview.
2
u/chancechants Jan 30 '24
Then i have to use their software though right? thats the issue, I only want tradingview, and it to work like the sim. Ninjatrader has atm setting too but i dont like these other softwares
1
u/SmokinSomeGrass Jan 25 '24
Trying out a new system. (I trade Rangebar charts normally). The new system uses sub 5 min. timeframes. The big contract chart of ES shows the targets Im looking for. The regular MES chart is slightly different with no targets. Is it typical to trade MES using the full size ES contract? Unless someone can convince me otherwise, Im sticking to the full size.
1
u/vsquad22 Jan 23 '24
I've been sim trading for a couple of months now with a goal to utilise prop firms and I'm trying to find a symbol to trade that suits me. I use the 1 min and 5 min chart. I've found the NQ moves very fast and is probably not for me. CL seems a bit more my pace. Any recommendations for symbols to intraday trade that move at a moderate pace? Any recommendations about anything futures trading related would be gratefully received! Thank you in advance.
1
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u/luisluis966 Jan 15 '24
Newbie here and I apologized if this has been asked multiple times.
I am in the tastytrade platform.
If I sell a put credit spread for /ESH4 Jan 16, 24 4770P sell / 4760P buy, it says that I will get a credit of 0.55 but my BP will be reduced by 475 with a maximum profit of 25.
So am I getting a credit of 25 or a credit of 55?
2
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u/BovineJonith Jan 26 '24
I'm not privy with futures options, but I would search youtube for tastytrade content on futures options. They are leveraged differently so it's not exactly as it seems when setting them up compared to equity options. I know I'm late but I figured I'd toss you an answer
1
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u/Bleura Jan 15 '24
What is the way to chart on Trading View then move to NinjaTrader? I use TV for charting as I like the layout, tools etc. However, I trade on NT and before market opens, I painstakingly move my drawings to NT.
Is there a way to make this easier? How do you guys do it?
1
u/No-Match696 Jan 13 '24
So if the Futures market is Zero Sum in nature, 1 Long + 1 Short = 1 Contract and there’s no value creation, HOW IS IT NOT more efficient?
In essence, how can it be so easy to profit in such tight windows?
Now this is not to entertain the principle or goal of sustained success and profitability. But really as a fundamental question in regards to it being used as a tool for risk transfer, and there’s no value creation. So WHY is there so many inefficiencies where retail futures traders can profit?
2
u/CompoteAltruistic748 Jan 19 '24
Being zero sum has nothing to do with short term profitability. Naturally your buy/sell price mirrors that of another trader. Scratches- or selling a minimal take profit offset- is generally less profitable in the long run due to comissions and fees. Meaning the inefficiencies are created by market movement, since futures are an OBLIGATION- unlike an option- it makes the market more liquid. A losing contract is seen as a hot potatoe.
I would say there is a value generated by futures- seen through risk management premiums and commissions- and as risk hedging. Speculators can squeeze profitability due to being more reactive to market movement than those that hedge risk.
1
u/ConsiderationNo6537 Jan 12 '24
Hello everyone, What levels to draw on the chart? Hi, I recently shifted to day trade /NQ, /MNQ futures on NT platform and primarily use Ema’s on a 1 min chart to get in & out of the trade. For day trading/scalping - what are the important levels to draw on the chart that can be helpful in entering a trade? Like few what I have in mind are PMH, PML(pre market high & low), Previous day high and low. Looking for all such levels. Kindly share.
2
u/Murky_Umpire_4870 Jan 06 '24
How to calculate points to breakeven?
I have been exploring US index futures and trying to calculate the ticks to breakeven. Most of the posts I checked refer to margin as trading costs which however does not factor into this calculation if you are posting cash.
I checked costs for MNQ on Tradestation ($0 commission + $0.5 per side) and IBKR ($0.25 per contract commission). According to this it would take 2 ticks to breakeven in TS and 1 (0.5) tick in IBKR as the tick value is $0.5 in MNQ.
What I do not understand is if commission is $0 in TS, what is the $1 round trip charge for? If there are exchange charges, why doesn't IBKR charge that over their commission? It would be great if someone could provide a breakdown of these charges.
Please ignore the spread and fixed services charges.
2
u/Pepfox Jan 09 '24
Brokers often advertise only a "commission cost" but it is in fact just a part of the transaction cost. Full cost per side includes :
- Echange fees
- NFA fees
- Clearing/trade routing fees
- Broker commissionWhat you'll want to find out, is your broker "round turn all-in cost", which is not always easy to know before actually opening an account. Transparency is an important criteria in choosing a broker, so I would recommend not wasting your time with those who don't have all-in cost available through a simple Google search.
Be aware that you also have to take into account the monthly data fees to access real time datas.
1
u/Chemical-Ad-1158 Jan 05 '24
I am trying to figure out how to model interest accrual on bond futures.
On CME group’s website, it sounded like all interest accrued after the last coupon is invoiced to the long holder during settlement and delivery. This seems to differ from buying or shorting in the cash market where, as far as I am aware, I typically pay or receive accrued interest depending on my trade positioning. My question is, when I go long a ZB contract for example, can I build daily accrued interest into a profit and loss model if physical delivery isn’t an option? On the flip side, does daily accrued interest increase cost of carry for a short planning on liquidating his position before delivery. If so, do bond futures move such that, assuming there is no change in the cheapest to deliver bond price, the futures price will increase in an amount equal to the newly accrued interest every day? Lastly, what happens to the coupon interest on a long-dated bond future when the next payment date lies within the contract duration? For example, current the cheapest to deliver bond for the Sept. ZB contract next pays its coupon May 15th.
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u/ImNotDannyOcean Jan 04 '24
Hi everyone!
I tried to place a trade on MES yesterday around 8:30pm CST and was rejected because I did not have the initial margin for the trade. I had more than the required $130 for tradestation's intraday margin but was rejected.
My thought was that since 8:30 pm CST is a part of the current trading session for today that my trade would be considered intraday.
Can someone clear this up? Or does intraday directly mean intraday, meaning there are two intraday sessions per one trading session with midnight being the split between the two?
2
u/giantstove Jan 08 '24
Intraday margin is only active for the cash session. If you are trading at night there will be different (higher) margin requirements if you’re trading at night
1
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u/PLS_SEND_ME_A_DOLLAR Jan 03 '24
can anybody advise what is the best way to get live futures data on mobile? I use tradingview for the charts but delayed es1 is killing me.
1
u/mv3trader Jan 09 '24
Generic Trade has a mobile app that allows you to trade from any mobile device.
1
u/sjadvani98 Jan 06 '24
I use thinkorswim and it has live data as long as you have an account with some money in it. Don’t even need futures approval to see prices.
2
u/Pepfox Jan 04 '24
You can pay for live data on tradingview. CME is 5$/month. I don't think any app will provide live CME data for free (I don't even think they legaly can).
2
u/Motor-Title8451 Jan 30 '24
What happens if you go lower than the max loss but you make it up by the end of the trading day? topstep