E-Minis

[tommog]

Please could someone explain to me what e-mini's are. I understand how futures work and i understand these are linked to them, but i'm not entierly sure what they are and how they differ from a normal futures contract.

thank you

 

[stevet]

its a designation for a type of futures contract

the "e" means they are only traded electronically

and the mini - means that there is another similar contract with a higher value

for example - the emini sp - is only traded electronically and has a value of $50 per point - whereas the big sp has a value of $250,000 and can be traded electronically when the SP pit is closed, but not electronically when the SP pit is open

there are eminis in lots of contracts - from gold, bonds etc - but in general the term is used for the emini sp and emini nasdaq - the smaller contract of the dow could also suit this label - but as most professional to date dont trade the dow - you can be pretty sure that when used it is applying to the sp and nasdaq

 

[JTrader]

You can learn about various emini contracts at -

http://www.cme.com/prd/eq/

 

[JTrader]

Also follow this link - http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1560+17721,00.html