Global futures markets offer a wide range of diverse products. Major exchanges complement each other by providing futures contracts on commodities such as agricultural products, base metals, and major stock indices not available elsewhere. This variety allows investors to have multiple options.

The liquidity of futures markets globally is strong, with over 20% of global derivatives trading volume concentrated in three or more exchanges in the United States alone, out of the top 7 exchanges worldwide. This liquidity makes it difficult to manipulate prices, increasing the likelihood of price movements following technical analysis patterns.

In addition, futures contracts in the international market exhibit clear trending patterns. For instance, trends in exchange rates and a country's overall economic situation are highly correlated. Once a bullish or bearish trend is established, it tends to persist for a significant period, providing investors with more favorable trading conditions.

The major futures exchanges are primarily located in the Americas (United States), Europe, and Asia.

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US Exchanges Europe Exchanges Asia Exchanges US Exchanges

The CME Group is currently the world’s largest derivatives trading center with a 150-year history. Over the years, it has undergone consolidation and expansion, and it currently operates four trading centers: the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), and the Commodity Exchange (COMEX).

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT)

Established in 1848, CBOT is the world’s leading agricultural futures market. It offers popular contracts for “the three sisters” (corn, wheat, and soybeans) and also trades medium and long-term U.S. government bonds, stock indices, municipal bond indices, gold, silver, and other commodity futures. The futures prices of corn, soybeans, wheat, and other varieties on this exchange serve as authoritative reference prices for international agricultural product trading. Additionally, CBOT supports options trading on agricultural products, financial instruments, and metals.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)

Founded in 1898, CME primarily trades e-mini Nasdaq and e-mini S&P 500 futures. It also offers various currency futures, live cattle, and meat futures. Major agricultural contracts include feeder cattle, frozen pork bellies, live cattle, lean hogs, and lumber futures and options contracts of irregular lengths ranging from 8 to 20 feet. Major financial instrument contracts are provided by the International Monetary Market Division and the Index and Options Market Division, as follows:

• International Monetary Market Division: Japanese yen, British pound, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, German mark, French franc, Swiss franc, 3-month Eurodollar futures contracts, 3-month U.S. government short-term Treasury bill futures contracts, and more.
• Index and Options Market Division: Japanese yen, British pound, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, German mark, French franc, Swiss franc, 3-month Eurodollar futures contracts, 3-month U.S. government short-term Treasury bill futures contracts, S&P index futures and options contracts.

New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)

Established in 1872, NYMEX is focused on energy futures, primarily crude oil and natural gas futures and options contracts. Tradable commodities include crude oil, gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, power, as well as coal, propane, and palladium futures contracts. NYMEX also offers trading in European Brent crude oil futures contracts and unleaded gasoline.

Commodity Exchange (COMEX)

Established in 1933, COMEX specializes in metal futures trading. It features the world’s most popular gold, silver, copper, aluminum, platinum, and palladium futures, as well as various industrial metal futures. COMEX’s gold futures market is the largest globally and has a significant influence on global gold prices. Participants in gold trading on COMEX are mainly hedge funds and institutional investors, contributing to high market liquidity.

In summary, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange offers a wide variety of commodity types, including many familiar ones. The above characteristics highlight the features of the four major U.S. futures exchanges.

Europe Exchanges

EUREX:

EUREX, established in 1998, is a prominent derivatives exchange. It offers trading in various types of financial instruments such as stock derivatives, volatility derivatives, and fixed-income derivatives. Specifically, it focuses on German government bonds, Eurozone stock index futures, German Frankfurt index futures, and Euro Blue Chip 50 futures, which represent the entire European market.

Intercontinental Exchange Europe (ICE):

ICE, founded in 2008, is a significant platform for commodity and energy trading. It lists Brent crude oil, the most widely traded crude oil in the international market. ICE also facilitates transactions involving indices like CAC40 and FT100, as well as energy futures.

London Metal Exchange (LME):

Established in 1877, LME is the world’s largest marketplace for trading non-ferrous metals. It provides a platform for trading various metals, including copper, aluminum, nickel, zinc, and more. The prices and inventory data published by LME have a significant impact on global production and trade of non-ferrous metals.

Asia Exchanges

Singapore Exchange (SGX):

Established in 1999, the Singapore Exchange is the largest overseas futures exchange for Chinese traders in recent years. One of the well-known financial instruments traded on SGX is the FTSE China A50 Index Futures, which was introduced in September 2006. A50 Index Futures are widely recognized as a significant tool for pricing China A-shares and are primarily used by overseas investors to hedge systematic risks in the A-share market. Leveraging its advantage as the second-largest port in the Asia-Pacific region, the Singapore Exchange offers a variety of traded commodities such as coal, fuel oil, iron ore, rubber, and shipping contracts. Among these commodity futures and options, iron ore futures exhibit relatively active trading.

Hong Kong Futures Exchange (HKFE):

The futures exchange in Hong Kong was established in 1976 and primarily operates under the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). It is one of the world’s major exchanges, and its subsidiary, the Hong Kong Futures Exchange, provides futures and options contracts for various asset classes, including stock indices, precious metals, and foreign exchange rates. Hong Kong has long been renowned as the Asia-Pacific financial hub, and the Hang Seng Index Futures is one of the internationally acclaimed index futures contracts.

Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), Japan:

The Tokyo Stock Exchange was established in 1949 and, after merging with several other exchanges, including the Osaka Securities Exchange, formed the Japan Exchange Group (JPX). It holds a significant position in the Asian market and offers familiar futures contracts such as Nikkei 225 Index Futures and TOPIX (Tokyo Stock Price Index) Futures.