Capitalize on Volatility by Trading SPIKES Futures
Traders looking for a more effective way to speculate on market volatility should look no further than SPIKES volatility futures. SPIKES futures provide an innovative new contract to the volatility markets and a marketplace previously limited to trading the VIX.
Now available through NinjaTrader Brokerage, SPIKE futures allow traders to:
- Hedge and diversify portfolios
- Speculate on real-time price action
- Help manage risk
- Implement volatility-based trading strategies
Why Trade SPIKES Futures?
SPIKES futures are derived from the SPIKES Volatility Index (SPIKE), which offers some key features and benefits over other volatility products. The SPIKES Volatility Index is a measure of the expected 30-day volatility in the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF (SPY). Using the SPY options traded across all US options exchanges provides a more robust volatility calculation.
Contract Specifications:- SPIKES Volatility Index Future (SPK)
- Contract Point Value: $1,000
- Minimum Price Fluctuation: .05, (1000 * .05 = $50.00 per-contract per-minimum move)
- Trading Hours: Sunday – Friday, 6:00am – 5:00pm ET
- Listed Contracts: Monthly – 6 nearest contracts
- Expiration Style: Trading ceases on the morning of the Wednesday 30 days prior to the third Friday of following contract month
- Settlement: Financially settled
Offering exceptionally fast index calculation and price dissemination, SPIKES futures price data is published every 100 milliseconds, which helps ensure real-time accuracy of current market conditions. This proprietary technique uses a blend of trades, bids and offer prices in the implied volatility calculations to help insulate the index from erratic price fluctuations.
Project a Volatility Range Using SPIKES
SPIKES futures provide a direct, efficient way to gauge market sentiment and model risk by using real-time value to project an approximate expected price range, up or down, over the next 30 days.
- Volatility Implied Range Example: If the SPIKES Volatility Index is at a value of 20, this implies a potential trading range of +/- 5.9% (20 / √12) over the next 30 days.
Start Trading Futures With NinjaTrader
NinjaTrader supports more than 800,000 futures traders worldwide with our award-winning trading platforms, world-class support and futures brokerage services with $50 day trading margins. The NinjaTrader desktop platform is always free to use for advanced charting, strategy backtesting, technical analysis and trade simulation.
Get to know our:
- Futures brokerage: Open an account size of your choice—no deposit minimum required—and get free access to our desktop, web and mobile trading platforms.
- Free trading simulator: Sharpen your futures trading skills and test your ideas risk-free in our simulated trading environment with 14 days of livestreaming futures market data.
Better futures start now. Open your free account to access NinjaTrader’s award-winning trading platforms, plus premium training and exclusive daily market commentary.
