Futures

A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date. StoicMarkets offers CFDs on four of the most liquid futures. They are the E-mini S&P 500 (ES), the E-mini Nasdaq 100 (NQ), the E-mini Dow (YM) and gold futures (GC). Trading them as CFDs means you track the futures price on MT5 without holding the exchange contract yourself. The three equity futures give a view on the US market. Gold futures track the metal. These four are among the deepest, most liquid futures markets anywhere, which keeps their pricing responsive.

Because these contracts follow the same assets as the cash indices and spot gold, they respond to the same forces. Federal Reserve decisions, US economic data, earnings and risk sentiment drive the equity futures, while gold futures follow real yields and safe-haven demand. Futures differ from cash markets in one key way. Each contract has an expiry date, and pricing rolls from the expiring month to the next one. That rollover can create a step in the quoted price that reflects the difference between the two contract months, not a real market move. The contract months are set by the exchange, and the price you see always reflects the current front-month contract.

The main draw of futures is the near round-the-clock schedule. The equity futures price almost 23 hours a day and keep tracking US risk when the Wall Street cash session is closed. That makes them a common way to react to overnight news before the stock market opens. Futures carry leverage set per symbol on our server. As dated, leveraged CFDs, they can move sharply on news outside cash hours, so losses can exceed the margin you post. Watch the expiry and rollover schedule so a contract change does not surprise you.