A futures contract is defined by its specification: what it represents, how big it is, its tick size and value, its trading hours and when it expires. Before you trade any futures contract, read its spec on the exchange's website. Every number in your risk calculation comes from it.
Contract months and codes
Each contract is named by its root symbol, a month code and a year. ESZ5 is the E-mini S&P 500 for December 2025.
| Month | Code | Month | Code | Month | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | F | May | K | September | U |
| February | G | June | M | October | V |
| March | H | July | N | November | X |
| April | J | August | Q | December | Z |
Expiry and rollover
Equity index futures such as ES and NQ are quarterly (March, June, September, December) and expire on the third Friday of the contract month. Crude oil (CL) is monthly. As expiry approaches, traders move their positions to the next contract; this is the roll. For the equity index futures, most volume typically shifts about a week before expiry.
Practical points
- Trade the front, liquid contract. After the roll, switch your charts and orders to the new month.
- Continuous charts: platforms stitch contracts together (often shown as ES1! or similar). Back-adjusted versions remove the price jump at each roll, so levels on old data may differ slightly from the actual contract.
- Don't hold into expiry unless you understand settlement. Most retail traders close or roll well before.
- Check daily hours and holidays. Futures have a daily break and shortened sessions around holidays.
Key takeaways
- A futures spec defines size, tick value, hours and expiry; read it before trading any contract.
- Contract names combine a root, a month code (H, M, U, Z for quarterly) and a year.
- Equity index futures expire quarterly on the third Friday; volume rolls to the next contract about a week earlier.
- Trade the most liquid contract, and understand how your continuous chart is stitched together.