What is a “tick”? If you’re thinking of trading Futures, or trading anything, really, you’ll need to know that a tick is the minimum price investment that your chosen can move up, or down. Here is a list of the minimum tick values for several markets, listed, below:

• E-mini SP500 = $12.50
• Wheat = $12.50
• Oats = $12.50
• Gold (100 oz) = $10.00
• Silver (5000 oz) = $5.00
• Crude Oil = $10.00
• Euro Currency = $12.50
• Yen Currency = $12.50
• Beans = $12.50
• Mini Dow = $5.00
• Mini NASDAQ = $5.00
• Mini Russell 2000 = $10.00
• 30-Year Bonds = $31.25
• 10-Year Notes = $15.63
• 5-Year Notes = $7.82
• Corn = $12.50

Definitions are fine and dandy, but a quick real-world example is always a good way to demonstrate how something works:

If you buy one E-mini SP500 Futures contract at $1411.00 and sell it at $1411.25, you will have made a profit of $12.50, as that is equal to one tick price movement in the E-mini SP500 market (as listed above). If you sell one at $1411.00 and buy it back at $1410.75, you will have made $12.50.

Ready to learn more? Check out our 5 Reasons to Trade Futures video below for a more detailed introduction to the futures market including some of the unique advantages to trading these markets. NinjaTrader is always free to use for advanced charting, backtesting and trade simulation. Start your free trading demo.