Can someone please explain to me the differenc between the two differemt S&P futures contracts? They seem to have different quotes. Which one do you use, or is better to use to gauge the market?
What the differemce between sp futures Contract
- Thread starter calibertrader
- Start date
SP is pit-traded. ES is electronically traded on Globex2, which means you can trade it after hours and evenings (except Fri & Sat) though liquidity is thin until Europe opens.
SP = $250 per point. ES is 1/5 the size of SP to make it more tradable for the masses, so 1.00 point = $50.
SP trades in .10 tick increments while ES trades in .25 tick increments.
Because SP is pit-traded, sometimes the quote you see will lag ES which is electronically quoted. Rarely have I seen difference in quotes of more than 1 handle (1.00 points) for 60 seconds, and in those cases I was never certain if that was due to SP quote lag.
SP = $250 per point. ES is 1/5 the size of SP to make it more tradable for the masses, so 1.00 point = $50.
SP trades in .10 tick increments while ES trades in .25 tick increments.
Because SP is pit-traded, sometimes the quote you see will lag ES which is electronically quoted. Rarely have I seen difference in quotes of more than 1 handle (1.00 points) for 60 seconds, and in those cases I was never certain if that was due to SP quote lag.
Thanks, Dottom, for condensing 6 pages of CME jargon into something intelligible!
