Futures Market

Futures Market

An auction market in which participants buy and sell commodity/future contracts for delivery on a specified future date. Trading is carried on through open yelling and hand signals in a trading pit.

Investopedia Commentary

Volume in the futures market usually increases when the stock market outlook is uncertain.

Related Links

Futures Fundamentals
Interpreting Volume for the Futures Market
Becoming Fluent in Options on Futures
Getting Started in Foreign Exchange Futures

See also: Chicago Board of Trade, Index Futures, Trading Pit

futures market

A market in which futures contracts are bought and sold. The various organized futures exchanges specialize in certain types of contracts. For example, corn, oats, soybeans, and wheat are traded on the Chicago Board of Trade, while the Commodity Exchange in New York handles trades in copper, gold, and silver. Other futures markets include the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, the International Monetary Market, the Kansas City Board of Trade, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, the New York Cotton Exchange, the New York Futures Exchange, and the New York Mercantile Exchange.