Uncovered Options Trading System
Category: Equity Index Futures / US Index Futures
The NQ NASDAQ 100 Futures have been developed to track the price (performance) of the NASDAQ 100 Index
(NDX). They were introduced and become available for trading in 1999 year. The NASDAQ 100 are traded on
the Chicago Merchandise Exchange (CME).
The NQ NASDAQ 100 Futures belongs to the group of the "US Index" futures from the
"Equity Index" futures category.
The value of the one NQ NASDAQ 100 Futures contracts is $20 times the value of the
NASDAQ 100 Index. If for example, the NASDAQ 100 Index
(NDX) is traded at $2,000, the
value of one future contracts gives to a furfures trader a buying power
that is equivalent to $40,000
(20 times bigger). Furthermore, if the
NASDAQ 100 Index moves up or drops down for one point, the NASDAQ 100 contract
increase or decline in its value by $20. The tick size (minimum price
fluctuation) of the NQ NASDAQ 100 Futures contract is 0.25 which correspond to $5.00.
The NQ NASDAQ 100 Futures are traded under the "NQ" symbol and the regular
trading hours for futures are from 5 p.m. EST to 3:15 p.m. EST on the next trading
day. The NQ futures contracts are classified by the month of expiration. The NQ futures expire on the third Friday of March, June, September and December. Based
on the expiration, the year's number and month's letter are added to the futures
symbol for its identification.
The NQ futures that expire in March have "H"
letter added, June expiration futures have "M" letter added, for September
expiration futures "U" letter is used and those futures that expire in December
have "Z" letter added at the end. Furthermore, the NQ NASDAQ 100 Futures that
expire in December 2024 are traded under the "NQ4Z" symbol, the
March 2025 expiration contracts are traded under the "NQ5H"
symbol, June 2025 expiration NASDAQ 100 have
"NQ5M" symbol and the ones that expire in September 2025 are listed
under the "NQ5U" symbol.
| Ticker Symbol: | NQ |
| Commodity: | NASDAQ 100 Index (NDX) |
| Available for trading since: | 1999 |
| Expiration Cycle: | Four times a year on third Friday of March, June, September and December. Next four expirations are NQ4Z - December 2024 NQ5H - March 2025 NQ5M - June 2025 NQ5U - September 2025 |
| Contract Size: | $20 x NASDAQ 100 Index price |
| Minimum Tick Size: | 0.25 = $5.00 |
| Traded on: | Chicago Merchandise Exchange (CME) |
Naked options trading is very risky - many people lose money trading them. It is recommended contacting your broker or investment professional to find out about trading risk and margin requirements before getting involved into trading uncovered options.