> ## 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.

# Choose a symbol

> Find a tradable market, look up its contract specs, and pick micro vs. full-size to size your risk.

Before you build a strategy you need a market to trade. The fastest way to find
one is to just ask — *"what can I trade?"* — and AskFutures lists the supported
markets. This guide covers finding a market, reading its contract specs, choosing
micro vs. full-size for sizing, and what's in and out of scope.

<Tip>
  You don't have to memorize codes. Describe the market in plain words — *"Micro
  Nasdaq,"* *"crude oil,"* *"the 10-year note"* — and AskFutures picks the right
  symbol and tells you which one it used.
</Tip>

## Find a tradable market

<Steps>
  <Step title="Ask what's available">
    *"What can I trade?"* or *"do you have gold?"* AskFutures answers from a fixed
    table of supported CME Group contracts. You can also browse the full list on
    [Supported symbols](/reference/supported-symbols).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name it your way">
    Use a description (*"micro S\&P"*) or the short **root symbol** (`MES`).
    AskFutures resolves either to the full contract and confirms its choice.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the pick">
    The strategy card shows the symbol it's trading. If it guessed wrong, just
    correct it — *"no, I meant the full-size ES."*
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  You refer to a market by its **root** — a short code like `ES`, `CL`, or `MNQ`.
  That's all you type; AskFutures trades the back-adjusted continuous front-month
  series for that root, so you never pick a calendar month by hand. See
  [Futures and symbols](/concepts/futures-and-symbols).
</Note>

## Look up contract specs

Every market carries a fixed set of specs — the numbers that turn a price move
into dollars and tell you when it trades. Ask *"what are the specs for CL?"* and
AskFutures reports them.

<ParamField path="Tick size" type="number">
  The smallest increment the market moves in. `ES` ticks in quarters of a point
  (0.25); `CL` ticks in cents (0.01).
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Tick value" type="dollars">
  The dollar value of one tick, per contract. One `ES` tick is worth \$12.50.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Full point value" type="dollars">
  The dollar value of a **1.0 move in price**, per contract — `tick value / tick
      size`. For `ES`: $12.50 / 0.25 = **$50\*\*. This is what converts a *"\$400 stop"*
  into an exact price distance.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Trading session" type="time range">
  When the market trades, in its home exchange's clock. Session-anchored rules
  (opening-range breakouts, "first trade of the day") and the default end-of-day
  exit use the session start and end — not midnight.
</ParamField>

A few real contracts side by side:

| 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          |

<Tip>
  Specs are why a backtest's dollar P\&L is exact rather than approximate. The
  full point value is the key number — see [Contract specs](/reference/contract-specs)
  for how to read all of them.
</Tip>

## Micro vs. full-size — sizing your risk

Many index, energy, metal, and FX markets come in two sizes. Both trade at the
**same price and tick size**; only the dollars-per-tick differ.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Full-size">
    The standard contract — `ES`, `NQ`, `GC`, `CL`. Bigger dollar value per
    move, bigger margin. A $400 stop on `ES` (full point value $50) sits **8
    points** from entry.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Micro">
    A fractional version of the same market, prefixed `M` — `MES`, `MNQ`, `MGC`,
    `MCL`. Same prices, same ticks, a fraction of the dollar value. That same
    $400 stop on `MES` (full point value $5) sits **80 points** away, because
    each point is worth one-tenth as much.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Why this matters for sizing: a micro lets you test an idea at a size that won't
dominate an account. The same market move produces a smaller P\&L and needs less
margin — ideal for putting a new idea through its paces before scaling up. The
default commission also reflects the split: **$1/side micro, $2.50/side
full-size**.

<Tip>
  Testing an idea for the first time? Start on the micro. You get the identical
  strategy logic and the same shape of results at a fraction of the dollar swing.
  Switch to full-size later by saying *"use ES instead of MES."*
</Tip>

## What's in scope — and what isn't

<Check>
  **In scope:** CME Group futures only — CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX. About 74
  symbols across equity indices, energy, metals, grains, rates, FX, crypto,
  livestock, softs, and volatility, each in micro and/or full-size where the
  exchange lists one.
</Check>

<Warning>
  **Out of scope:** stocks and ETFs, options, spot FX, single-name crypto spot,
  and futures from non-CME-Group exchanges. If you ask for one of these,
  AskFutures will tell you it can't trade it rather than silently substituting a
  different market.
</Warning>

See the complete, asset-class-by-asset-class list on
[Supported symbols](/reference/supported-symbols).

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Supported symbols" icon="table-list" href="/reference/supported-symbols">
    The full list of tradable markets by asset class.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Futures and symbols" icon="chart-candlestick" href="/concepts/futures-and-symbols">
    How AskFutures models instruments, ticks, points, and continuous contracts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Contract specs" icon="file-lines" href="/reference/contract-specs">
    How to read tick size, value, sessions, margin, and roll rules.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Build a strategy" icon="hammer" href="/guides/build-a-strategy">
    Name your market, describe the idea, run a backtest.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>