What is Market Pulse?

Market Pulse manages 5 data types including badge definitions. Helps you organize, track, and share your work in 1 place for teams and solo users.

Contracts, Expiration & Rollover

G7G Market Pulse, LLC

Beginner Education Series

Contracts, Expiration & Rollover

Understand futures symbols, expiration months, active contracts, rollover, and cash settlement.

Learn how futures contract symbols are built, why volume moves between contracts, and what happens at expiration. This guide teaches contract mechanics — not trade calls or promises of profit.

Beginner15 min read

Understanding the Contract Symbol

A futures symbol normally combines three parts: a product code, an expiration-month code, and an expiration year. Together, these tell you exactly which contract you are viewing or trading.

Product code

Identifies the contract type — e.g., NQ for E-mini Nasdaq-100.

Expiration-month code

A single letter representing the expiration month — e.g., H for March.

Expiration year

The two-digit year of expiration — e.g., 25 for 2025.

Symbols can look different across TradingView, NinjaTrader, brokers, and data providers. The same contract may appear as NQH25 on one platform and NQH2025 or NQ H5 on another. Always confirm the format your platform uses.

Product Codes

These four product codes are used throughout this Learning Center. Each represents a specific futures contract on the CME.

E-mini Nasdaq-100

MNQ

Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100

E-mini S&P 500

MES

Micro E-mini S&P 500

Quarterly Expiration Codes

Equity-index futures like NQ, MNQ, ES, and MES expire on a quarterly cycle. Each expiration month is represented by a single-letter code.

March

June

September

December

Example Codes

NQH25— NQ, March 2025

ESM26— ES, June 2026

MNQU25— MNQ, September 2025

MESZ26— MES, December 2026

Platform formatting varies. Some platforms use two-digit years, some use four-digit years, and some add spaces or separators. Always verify on your platform.

Active Contract

The active contract is the expiration month that currently has the most trading volume. This is where liquidity is concentrated and where execution quality is highest.

Active or front-month contract

The contract with the highest volume and liquidity at a given time. This is where most trading activity occurs.

Why volume moves to a later contract

As expiration approaches, traders close or roll positions. Volume migrates to the next expiration month, which becomes the new active contract.

Why traders must confirm the active contract

Trading the wrong contract means trading something other than where the liquidity is. Always verify which contract is active before entering orders.

Risks of Trading an Inactive Contract

Lower liquidity

Fewer participants means fewer buyers and sellers at any given price.

Wider spreads

The gap between bid and ask increases, raising the cost of every trade.

Reduced execution quality

Orders may fill at worse prices or experience partial fills and slippage.

Rollover

Rollover is a core concept in futures trading. Understanding when and why it happens helps you avoid trading the wrong contract.

What rollover means

Rollover is the process of switching from the expiring contract to the next active contract month.

Why rollover occurs

As the current contract approaches expiration, volume and liquidity shift to the next contract. Traders roll to maintain positions in the most liquid contract.

Volume-based rollover

Some traders roll when daily volume in the new contract exceeds volume in the current contract.

Calendar-based rollover

Others roll on a predetermined date, such as the CME recommended rollover date, which is typically several days before expiration.

Why chart prices can change around rollover

The new contract may trade at a different price than the expiring contract, causing a visible gap or shift on the chart at rollover.

Why indicators can look different when the wrong contract is selected

If your indicators are calculated on an inactive or expiring contract, they may not reflect current market conditions. Always confirm the correct active contract is selected on your charts and indicators.

Confirm Before You Trade

Always confirm which contract is active before placing orders. Volume-based and calendar-based rollover methods may identify slightly different rollover dates, so verify on your platform.

Continuous Contracts

Continuous charts are helpful for analysis, but they are not the same as tradable contracts. Understanding the difference is critical.

NQ1! and ES1!-style continuous charts

Platforms like TradingView use the "!" suffix to create a continuous chart that automatically rolls from one expiration to the next. These are useful for analysis but are not tradable symbols.

Specific tradable expiration contracts

To place an order, you must use the specific expiration contract symbol — for example, NQH25 — not the continuous symbol.

Back-adjusted historical data

Continuous charts stitch together past contracts using back-adjustment. Price gaps between contracts are smoothed, so historical prices may not match the actual prices that occurred at the time.

Actual order-entry symbols

Order entry requires the real contract symbol for the correct expiration month. Never place orders using a continuous-chart symbol.

Continuous Charts Are Not Tradable

"A continuous chart may be useful for analysis, but traders must confirm the correct tradable contract before placing an order."

Expiration and Settlement

Understanding what happens at expiration helps you avoid unexpected settlement procedures or forced liquidation.

Cash-settled

NQ, MNQ, ES, and MES are cash-settled equity-index futures. No physical shares are delivered at expiration.

Close or roll before expiration

Most short-term traders close or roll positions before expiration to avoid settlement procedures and final-hour volatility.

Holding into expiration

Holding a position into expiration can involve special settlement procedures, including a different settlement calculation based on the final settlement price.

Verify broker and exchange rules

Brokers may auto-liquidate positions before expiration. Always verify your broker's and the exchange's expiration and settlement rules.

Contract-Code Builder

Select a product, expiration month, and year to see how a futures contract code is assembled. This tool is for educational purposes only and does not connect to a brokerage or place orders.

Contract-Code Builder

Product

Expiration Month

Year (2-digit)

Product Code

Month Code

H (March)

Example Combined Code

NQH25

⚠

Platform formatting may differ. TradingView, NinjaTrader, brokers, and data providers may display symbols differently. Always confirm the exact symbol format on your platform before placing an order.

Rollover Checklist

Use this interactive checklist each time rollover approaches. Your progress is saved in this browser—no sign-in required.

0 of 10 completed

Lesson 2 of 27

Foundations

NQ vs. ES

Continue Learning

Beginner12 min

NQ vs. ES

Compare Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures contracts and their micro equivalents.

Open Lesson

Beginner14 min

NQ & ES Behavior

Learn how NQ and ES index futures may behave — concentration, volatility, liquidity, divergence, and why behavior is conditional.

Open Lesson

Beginner15 min

Intermarket

Learn contextual intermarket relationships — yields, dollar, volatility, sector rotation — and their limitations, including correlation vs. causation and confirmation vs. dependency.

Open Lesson

Authoritative Sources

For deeper study, consult these official educational resources. G7G Market Pulse is not affiliated with these organizations.

CME — E-mini Nasdaq-100 Specifications CME — E-mini S&P 500 Specifications CME — Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 Specifications CME — Micro E-mini S&P 500 Specifications SEC — Investor.gov