> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.askfutures.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Futures and symbols
> How AskFutures models instruments — symbols, micros, continuous contracts, ticks, points, margin, and roll — and the numbers behind a backtest.
When you name a market in chat, AskFutures looks it up in a fixed table of
contract specs — the tick size, the dollar value of a tick, the trading session,
the roll schedule, and more. Those specs are what let it turn *"use a \$400
stop"* into an exact price distance, and what make a backtest's dollar P\&L
correct rather than approximate.
This page explains how AskFutures models an instrument, so the rules you describe
behave the way you expect.
## Symbols and roots
You refer to a market by its **root symbol** — a short code like `ES`, `CL`, or
`MNQ`. That's all you need to type; AskFutures resolves it to the full contract
spec behind the scenes.
A root names the *contract family* (E-mini S\&P 500, Crude Oil), not one specific
expiry. AskFutures always trades the [continuous front-month series](#continuous-contracts-and-the-front-month)
for that root, so you never pick a calendar month by hand.
**"Symbol" is overloaded.** Out in the world the same instrument has several
codes — an exchange symbol, a data-vendor symbol, a broker symbol. In
AskFutures you only ever use the **root** (`ES`, `MNQ`, `GC`). When the docs or
the strategy card say "symbol," that's what they mean.
## Supported markets
AskFutures covers **CME Group futures only** — CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX —
about 74 symbols across these asset classes:
| Asset class | Roots |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Equity indices | `ES NQ YM RTY EMD` + micros `MES MNQ MYM M2K` |
| International indices | `DAX FTSE NKD NIY STOX` |
| Energy | `CL BZ NG HO RB` + micros `MCL MNG` |
| Metals | `GC SI HG PA PL` + micros `MGC MHG SIL` |
| Grains | `ZC ZW ZS ZL ZM` + micros `MZC MZW MZL MZM` |
| Rates | `ZB ZN ZF ZT UB TN BOBL BUND GILT` |
| FX | `6E 6B 6J 6A 6C 6M 6N 6S` + micros `M6A M6B M6E` |
| Crypto | `BTC ETH` + micros `MBT MET MXP` |
| Livestock | `HE LE` |
| Softs | `CC CT KC SB` |
| Volatility | `VX` |
Not sure of a root? Just describe the market in plain words — *"Micro
Nasdaq"*, *"crude oil"*, *"the 10-year note"* — and AskFutures will pick the
right symbol and tell you which one it used.
### Micro vs. full-size
Many index, energy, metal, and FX markets come in two sizes:
* **Full-size** — the standard contract (`ES`, `NQ`, `GC`, `CL`).
* **Micro** — a fractional-size version of the same market, prefixed with `M`
(`MES`, `MNQ`, `MGC`, `MCL`). Micros track the same prices and tick in the same
increments; only the dollars-per-tick differ.
The two trade at the same price and tick size, but a micro's dollar value is a
fraction of its parent — so the same move means a smaller P\&L (and a smaller
margin). Micros are the easy way to test an idea at a size that won't dominate
your account. The default micro/full-size commission also reflects this split
(see [is the backtest real?](/concepts/is-the-backtest-real)).
## Continuous contracts and the front month
A futures contract expires. To backtest *years* of history, AskFutures uses a
**back-adjusted continuous contract**: the front-month contract spliced forward
through each roll, with the price levels adjusted at each splice so the gaps
between expiring and new contracts don't create fake jumps in P\&L.
What this means for you:
* You get one long, gap-free price series per root — ideal for indicators and
multi-year backtests.
* Because levels are back-adjusted, **absolute historical prices can differ from
what printed live on a given day**, but the *bar-to-bar moves* (and therefore
your P\&L) are correct.
## Ticks, points, and value
Three numbers turn a price move into dollars. Using the E-mini S\&P 500 (`ES`):
The smallest price increment the market moves in. `ES` ticks in quarters of a
point.
The dollar value of one tick, per contract. One `ES` tick = \$12.50.
The dollar value of a **1.0 move in price**, per contract. Computed as
`FullPointValue = TickValue / TickSize` — for `ES`, $12.50 / 0.25 = **$50\*\*.
The full point value is the key to dollar-based rules. When you say *"use a \$400
stop"*, AskFutures converts dollars to a price distance with this number:
```text Dollar stop -> price distance theme={null}
price distance = dollar amount / full point value
$400 stop on ES = $400 / $50 = 8.00 points
```
So a $400 `ES` stop sits 8 full points away from entry; the same $400 stop on the
micro `MES` (full point value \$5) sits 80 points away, because each point is
worth one-tenth as much.
**"Point" is overloaded too.** A *price point* is one full unit of the
instrument's price (worth the full point value above). An *indicator period* —
as in "a 14-**period** RSI" — is a count of bars and has nothing to do with
price. We say **point** for price and **period** for indicator length to keep
them apart.
### Example contract specs
A few real contracts, to show how the pieces fit (full point value =
tick value / tick size):
| Symbol | Market | Tick size | Tick value | Full point value |
| ------ | ----------------------- | --------- | ---------- | ---------------- |
| `ES` | E-mini S\&P 500 | 0.25 | \$12.50 | \$50 |
| `MES` | Micro E-mini S\&P 500 | 0.25 | \$1.25 | \$5 |
| `MNQ` | Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | \$0.50 | \$2 |
| `GC` | Gold | 0.10 | \$10.00 | \$100 |
| `CL` | Crude Oil | 0.01 | \$10.00 | \$1,000 |
Notice `MES` and `ES` share the same tick size (0.25) but `MES` is one-tenth the
value — that's the micro relationship. And `CL`'s small tick size (0.01) gives it
a large full point value: a $1.00 move in crude is worth $1,000 per contract.
## Margin (informational)
Each contract carries an **initial** and **maintenance** margin — roughly, the
capital a broker requires to hold the position. AskFutures stores these so you
can see the rough capital footprint of a market, and they're useful when sizing a
test on a micro vs. its full-size parent.
Margin is **informational context only**. The backtest does not model margin
calls or liquidations — it assumes each signaled trade is taken. Treat margin
as a sanity check on size, not as a constraint the simulator enforces.
## Contract roll
Because the continuous series rolls from one expiring contract to the next, every
bar knows how close it is to that event. Two values are available to your rules:
* **Days to roll** — bars until AskFutures rolls to the next contract.
* **Days to expiration** — bars until the current contract expires.
You can use either in plain English — *"don't open new trades in the last 3 days
before roll"*, or *"flatten everything two days before expiration"* — to avoid
trading through the noisy period around a roll.
## Trading sessions and daily bars
Every market has a defined **trading session** (a start and end time in its home
exchange's clock). This matters in two places:
* **Session-anchored rules** like opening-range breakouts or "first trade of the
day" use the session start, not midnight.
* **Daily (`1d`) bars are timestamped at the session *end*.** A daily bar
represents the whole session's open/high/low/close, stamped at the moment the
session closed — not at 00:00. So when a daily rule "fires today," it's using
the session you just finished, which keeps multi-timeframe logic honest.
AskFutures offers `1m`, `5m`, `1h`, `1d`, and `1w` bars. The silent default for
a day-trading idea is **1-minute bars**, with an end-of-day exit. Say so if you
want something else — *"use 5-minute bars"* or *"hold overnight."*
Backtest results are **hypothetical and simulated** — net of modeled slippage
and commission, and computed from back-adjusted continuous prices. Past
performance does not guarantee future results. Always test before you trade.
## Next steps
The parts every strategy is made of — and how a market fits in.
Why the numbers are reproducible, and exactly what the simulator models.
Turn dollar stops and targets into the price distances above.
Put it together: name a market, describe the idea, run a backtest.