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Trade Futures for only $0.99! Get Real-Time Info, Quotes, News
www.GoFutures.com
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ETRADE.com
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SandsTurtleFutures.com
Start Selling Them. Liberty Trading Specialized Futures Brokerage
OptionSellers.com
Updated daily: energy, grains, industrials, livestock, precious metals and softs.
www.bloomberg.com
Detailed cash prices for all major agricultural, softs, energy and metals markets.
www.wdat.com
Commodity futures charts, quotes, data, and trading resources as well as a glossary and educational material.
www.britefutures.com
This page displays delayed quotes, settlement prices, volume and open interest, as well as time and sales of futures and options.
www.cbot.com
Provides settlement prices for agricultural commodities, currencies, interest rates and indices.
www.cme.com
Provides quotes for daily active futures covering energy, metals, as well as livestock and meat.
cnnfn.cnn.com
Access end-of-day updated quotes and charts on all futures and options commodities traded on U.S. markets; futures market analysis and specific daily trading recommendation; Agricultural weather; USDA reports.
adas-market.com
Real-time, graphic-enhanced quotation vendor which inserts all exchange corrections in real-time to provide integrated information to traders for decision support.
www.cqg.com
Provider of futures charts, quotes and technical analysis updated periodically.
futuresguide.com
Discount brokerage services including free tools, research and education for online stocks and options investors. Open an Account!
www.optionsxpress.com (Paid)
Quotes for all futures exchanges in the US, latest news and charts. Market summaries and exchange releases are also included.
www.globalcharts.com
ODDS provides End of Day data on all World Futures, FOREX. Provides its own software interface to subscribers to handle data housekeeping.
www.oddsdata.com
Operating under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission, OCC is the issuer and registered clearing facility for all U.S. exchange-listed securities options.
www.optionsclearing.com
ODDS provides End of Day data on all World Futures, FOREX and a software interface to subscribers.
www.odds.com.au
PC Trader delivers real-time financial quotes, news and analysis to PCs over the Internet.
www.pctrader.com
PitNews features: market tips, weekly commentary, futures & options forum, charts, market briefs and commodity prices.
www.pitnews.com
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Provides software applications and financial market information to online investors. This site hosts interactive stock and futures charts.
www.prophetfinance.com
Tracks many commodities and financial indicators, making the information available in the form of free online charts and intraday commodity quotes. Users can create a personalized charts menu.
www.tfc-charts.w2d.com
Provider of quotes and charts on individual stocks, stock indices and futures.
www.tradingcharts.com
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Guide to Futures Quotes
Save now and pay later--a guide to using futures quotationsFutures quotes vary by underlying asset. Typically, quotes are per unit, but the contract is for several units of the underlying asset. For example, single stock futures quotes are per share prices, but the contract is for 100 shares. Exchanges base margin requirements on the total value of the contract, so capital restrictions will reduce trading volume for most investors. The following steps will help you get started in futures trading:
1. Determine your risk tolerance.
2. Decide what trading strategies you will pursue.
3. Find a source for futures quotes.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Consult with a professional and determine your risk tolerance in dollar terms
A financial planner can help determine how much capital you can stand to lose. This is the maximum amount you should consider investing in futures trading. Furthermore, most popular trading platforms require their clients to have some experience in trading equities before allowing them to open a trading account.
I recommend:
Futures speculating is very time consuming, as live futures quotes change constantly. Only you can decide if you can stomach the turbulence of the market. A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) can help determine how futures trading fits into your portfolio. Search for a CFP by zip code.
Decide which futures contracts you will trade
There is a wide variety of futures contracts available and no individual can trade them all, so it is important to specialize. If you have some knowledge of a particular commodity or group of commodities, then concentrate your efforts on trading those contracts. Once you know the contracts you will trade, determine which trading strategies you will use. Also, live futures quotes will be more important for some contracts than others. Low-volume contracts like housing futures require only daily quotes.
I recommend:
This step can follow naturally from your other investment pursuits. For example, if you already invest in individual stocks, consider trading in single stock futures. This way you complement your knowledge. In terms of trading strategies, United Futures has a guide to basic strategies. You can test your strategies using a simulator such as the one found at Mock Trading.
Find a source for futures quotes and a trading platform
Depending on the contracts you want to trade, you will need to get quotes from either the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) or the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Specialized products are on other exchanges, but the CME and NYMEX cover most futures contracts. The Chicago Board Options Exchange provides futures options quotes.
I recommend:
There are numerous futures quotation providers. The CME offers free live futures prices and live futures charts with a 10-minute delay. If you currently have an open and funded trading account, you may be able to obtain a free live futures quote delivery system. Quote Tracker offers a platform for those with a TD Ameritrade account. Stock futures quotes are available from One Chicago.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide- The CME allows you to download historical futures quotes. These make an excellent sample to test the trading strategies you develop. You can also use the data to detect cyclicality or find trends.
