Indices DJIA S&P 500 DAX 30 Nasdaq 100 Nasdaq Comp Nikkei 225 FTSE 100 SMI DJ Stoxx 50 CAC 40 Hang Seng Kospi Nyse Comp AMEX   -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -   10911 1137.4 5732.4 2127.7 2438.1 8981.9 5072.1 4984.1 2161.9 5732.4 19614.7 1817.4 7017.6 2174.7 Commodites Light Crude Oil Brent Crude Copper Gold Pallad Platinum Silver Dow Diamonds QQQQ   -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -   83.08 106.28 1.17 1758.7 730.5 1782 38.21 109.16 55.42 Last update: 11-08-2011 14:29:00 (GMT - Live)

Leverage: Small movements can create big profits! What is a Futures Contract? Leverage: Small movements can create big profits! Margins Month Codes Buying (Going Long) to Profit from an Expected Price Increase Selling (Going Short) to Profit from an Expected Price Decrease About the National Futures Association (NFA) Complete history of the Futures Contract? Contract Specifications: mini-sized Dow ($5) CBOT Contract Specifications: DJIA Futures ($10 Multiplier) CBOT Contract Specifications: Corn CBOT TOP 4 U.S. FUTURES EXCHANGES TOP 10 GLOBAL FUTURES CONTRACTS TOP 10 U.S. FUTURES CONTRACTS TOP 10 CME FUTURES CONTRACTS RANKED BY VOLUME Delivery CME Eurodollar Futures CME Eurodollar Futures CME LIBOR Futures To say that gains and losses in futures trading are the result of price changes is an accurate explanation but by no means a complete explanation. Perhaps more so than in any other form of speculation or investment, gains and losses in futures trading are highly leveraged. An understanding of leverage—and of how it can work to your advantage or disadvantage—is crucial to an understanding of futures trading. The leverage of futures trading stems from the fact that only a relatively small amount of money (known as initial margin) is required to buy or sell a futures contract. On a particular day, a margin deposit of only $1,000 might enable you to buy or sell a futures contract covering $25,000 worth of soybeans. Or for $20,000, you might be able to purchase a futures contract covering common stocks worth $200,000. The smaller the margin in relation to the value of the futures contract, the greater the leverage will be. If you speculate in futures contracts and the price moves in the direction you anticipated, high leverage can produce large profits in relation to your initial margin. Conversely, if prices move in the opposite direction, high leverage can produce large losses in relation to your initial margin. Leverage is a two-edged sword. For example, assume that in anticipation of rising stock prices you buy one June S&P 500 E-mini stock index futures contract at a time when the June index is trading at 1400. And assume your initial margin requirement is $4,000. Since the value of the futures contract is 50 times the index, each one point change in the index represents a $50 gain or loss. Thus, an increase in the index from 1400 to 1420 would produce a $1,000 profit (20 x $50) and a decrease from 1400 to 1380 would be a $1,000 loss on your $4,000 margin deposit. That’s a 25 percent gain or loss as the result of less than a 2 percent change in the stock index. source: National Futures Association