Standardised contracts to buy or sell an asset at a future date.
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Crude oil (CL) is the world's most actively traded commodity future — a physically-settled contract on WTI crude, driven by geopolitics, OPEC and the global economy. Learn its specifications, why physical settlement matters, the meaning of contango and backwardation, and the cautionary tale of negative oil prices.
The E-mini S&P 500 (ES) is the world's most heavily traded equity-index future — the benchmark instrument for gaining or hedging exposure to the US stock market around the clock. Learn what it tracks, its key specifications, why it's so widely used, and how it differs from an ETF like SPY.
Every futures contract is defined by a precise set of specifications — the underlying, contract size, tick size and value, expiry months and settlement type. Learn to read a contract's 'specs', why the multiplier and tick value determine your real exposure, and how mini and micro contracts scale risk to fit your account.
Margin is the deposit that lets a small amount of capital control a large futures position — but it works nothing like stock margin. Learn the difference between initial and maintenance margin, how a margin call happens, why futures margin is a performance bond rather than a loan, and how to manage the leverage it creates.
Settlement is how a futures contract concludes — and it happens on two levels: a daily mark-to-market that moves cash every night, and a final settlement at expiry that is either physical or cash. Learn both, the role of the clearing house that guarantees every trade, and why daily settlement keeps the whole system solvent.
Gold (GC) is the benchmark precious-metals future — the market's classic safe haven and store of value. Learn its specifications, what actually drives the gold price (real interest rates, the dollar, fear and inflation expectations), why gold pays no yield, and how it's used as a portfolio diversifier.
The E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ) is the technology-heavy cousin of the S&P 500 future — faster-moving, more volatile, and the go-to contract for exposure to the biggest US tech and growth companies. Learn what it tracks, its specifications, why it swings harder than ES, and who trades it.
The E-mini Russell 2000 (RTY) tracks US small-cap stocks — the domestic, economically-sensitive corner of the market. Learn what it tracks, its specifications, why small-caps behave as a risk-appetite barometer, and how RTY complements the large-cap ES and tech-heavy NQ.
Futures are the oldest derivative — a binding agreement to buy or sell something at a fixed price on a future date. Learn where they came from, how a standardised contract works, why leverage makes them so powerful and so dangerous, the difference between hedgers and speculators, and how futures compare with options and shares.