Rollover Dates And Expiration

A contract month is the month in which a futures contract expires. All of the e-mini stock index futures contracts trade on the March quarterly expiration cycle (March, June, September and December). Each month is represented by a single letter:

• H = March
• M = June
• U = September
• Z = December 

Each contract is known by its ticker symbol, the contract month and the year in which the contract is traded. The complete name for the March 2012 TF contract, for example, would be "TFH12" (see Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Each futures contract is known by its ticker symbol, contract month and year in which the contract is traded.

E-mini contracts are similar to other futures contracts in that they have a defined length and specified expiration. The e-mini stock index futures expires at the same time and to the same price as their larger counterpart contracts (for example, the e-mini S&P 500 contract expires at the same time as the standard, full-sized S&P 500 contract). The expiration date (or final trading day) is the last day that a futures contract is valid. Since futures contracts have delivery months (or contract months, such as H, M, U and Z), the expiration is the time and the day that the particular contract stops trading. The final settlement price for the contract is also determined. Expiration for the e-minis stock index futures contracts (including ES, NQ, YM and TF) occurs at 9:30 am EST on the third Friday of the delivery months, such as the third Friday in March for a March contract, or the third Friday in December for a December contract.

When a contract expires, it does not expire worthless (like an options contract would). Instead, an open position rolls over to the new contract.

RolloverContract Rollover occurs on the Thursday a week before the expiration Friday - for the e-minis, this is the second Thursday of March, June, September and December (if the Rollover month starts on a Friday, the Rollover is the first Thursday of the month). The next contract becomes the "lead contract" or the "front month". Even though the previous contract continues to trade until expiration, the majority of trading moves to the next contract. For example, if the TFU12 contract expires on September 21, the rollover date would be the previous Thursday, or September 13, in this case. The majority of trading would switch to the December contract (TFZ12) as of market open (9:30 am EST) on the rollover date.

Figure 5 illustrates the increase in volume that switches to the next contract as of the Rollover date. In the example, the June and September ES contracts are shown. The Rollover (June 7) date is indicated by the yellow arrows, along with the June contract's expiration. Notice the increase in volume for the September contract that coincides with the Rollover date. Trading for the June contract ceases as of the expiration.

Figure 5 - These daily charts show the June and September 2012 ES contracts. The Rollover (June 7) dates are indicated by the yellow arrows, along with the June contract\'s expiration. Notice the increase in volume for the September contract that coincides with the Rollover date. Chart created with TradeStation.

Trading the Contract Rollover 
Many active traders will trade the "old" contract on Rollover day, and then switch to the "new" contract on the next day, or make the switch on the actual Rollover day. Figure 5 shows that after Rollover, the volume of the current contract (June) wanes, while the volume of the upcoming contract (September) increases. In general, traders should move into the new contract as volume moves from one to the other. Some traders avoid Rollover day altogether because it is considered by many to be choppy and challenging to trade. It is important to do your own homework and research to determine if your trading strategy is affected by Rollover trading. 

Continuous ContractsThe continuous contract is a combination of the various delivery months of a contract. It allows traders and investors to view the historical price movement (and historical technical analysis) over multiple contracts. The continuous contract is vital to strategy development and backtesting, since it accounts for years of trading data. Often, the symbol for the continuous contract is the contract's ticker symbol, preceded by the "@" symbol. The continuous NQ contract, for example, would be designated "@NQ." 

Figure 6 shows a weekly chart of the continuous NQ contract. Notice that the chart appears as seamless as that of a regular stock chart. Typically, the continuous contract is used for analysis purposes only and not for actual trading.

SEE: Backtesting: Interpreting The Past

Figure 6 - The continuous NQ contract, shown on a weekly chart.

Read more: Intermediate Guide To E-Mini Futures Contracts - Rollover Dates And Expiration | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/university/intermediate-guide-to-trading-e-mini-futures/rollover-dates-and-expiration.asp#ixzz4avXY7Z2F
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15 marzo 2017

gli indici europei stanno rollando le posizioni da marzo a giugno.  alcuni contratti tolgono i dividendi, per cui ci sono dei gap down molto sostenuti: 
  
  il ftmib scende di 400 punti, 
  lo stoxx 78, 
  i bancari 3,2
  il dax invece sale di 32 ticks.


Il giorno in cui sul giugno scambieranno volumi piu alti che sul marzo è giovedi sul ftmib, mentre x gli altri cio accade solo venerdi
gli orari di settlement, in cui possono accadere dei flash crash, sono  

11.50-12.00 per lo sto, 
13-.13.10 dax, 
14.30 (all open) per gli USA.