MNQ
The Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 future, one-tenth the size of the E-mini (NQ) at $2 per index point. Its low cost and margin make it the go-to contract for retail Nasdaq-100 day trading.
Trading Lingo
Plain-English definitions for the MNQ futures and day-trading terms you'll meet on the desk, grouped by topic. Search to jump straight to a term.
MNQ & Futures Contract Basics 9
Rollover
Moving a position from the expiring front-month to the next contract before expiration. MNQ rolls quarterly; volume migrates to the new front-month around the week before the third Friday (roll date). Trade the contract that holds the volume, not the calendar.
Continuous Contract (@MNQ, back-adjusted)
Stitched chart across contract months for clean historical/backtest analysis spanning rolls.
Open Interest (OI)
Total outstanding contracts. Pairs with volume; rising OI signals conviction and confirms which month is active.
Daily Settlement / Mark-to-Market
Futures post gains and losses to your account every session at the settlement price. Separate from final cash settlement at expiry.
Initial vs Maintenance Margin
Initial opens a position, maintenance holds it; falling below maintenance triggers a margin call. Intraday day-trade margin is broker-set and much lower.
Notional Value
Full contract exposure (about $2 × index level). At Nasdaq-100 = 20,000, one MNQ controls roughly $40,000. Shows your real leverage.
RTH vs ETH / Globex
Regular Trading Hours (9:30-4:00 ET cash session) vs Electronic/overnight hours on CME Globex. Keep RTH and overnight levels separate.
Limit Up / Limit Down
Price bands that pause or halt trading in extreme moves, tiered to the cash market.
Order Types & Execution 8
Market
Buy or sell immediately at the best available price. Guarantees a fill, not a price, and can slip in fast markets.
Limit
Buy or sell only at a set price or better. Guarantees the price, not the fill; the order rests until the market trades there.
Stop
A resting order that turns into a market order once your trigger price trades. Used for stop-losses and breakout entries, with slippage possible.
Stop Limit
A stop that becomes a limit order at the trigger, capping your worst fill price. Avoids slippage but risks no fill if price runs past the limit.
OCO (One-Cancels-Other)
Two linked orders where a fill on one cancels the other. The mechanic underneath your bracket order.
Time-in-Force (Day / GTC / IOC / FOK)
Day expires at session end, GTC good till cancelled, IOC fills available size and cancels the rest, FOK fills fully now or cancels.
Fill / Partial Fill
Execution of an order; partial means only some contracts filled at the price.
Iceberg Order
Large order showing only a slice on the book at a time.
Day Trading & Futures General Terms 6
DOM (Depth of Market)
Live ladder of resting bids and asks by price. Same data as Level 2, the standard futures interface.
Order Flow
Reading executed trades and resting orders to gauge intent.
Cumulative Delta
Running difference between aggressive buy and sell volume. Divergence from price hints at absorption or reversal.
Time & Sales (the Tape)
Chronological feed of executed trades with price and size.
Absorption
Large resting orders soaking up aggressive flow without price moving, often before a reversal.
Gap (Up / Down)
Difference between one session's close and the next open. Frequent around the cash open and overnight news.
Technical Analysis Terms 12
Support
A price level where buying tends to halt a decline, acting as a floor. A clean break often flips it into resistance.
Resistance
A price level where selling tends to cap a rally, acting as a ceiling. A clean break often flips it into support.
Opening Range Breakout (ORB)
Trading the break of the high/low of the first 5/15/30 minutes of RTH. Staple index intraday setup.
Initial Balance (IB)
Price range of the first hour of RTH; frames the day's auction.
Market Profile / TPO
Time-at-price distribution showing where the market spent the most time.
Value Area (VAH/VAL) & POC
Value Area holds about 70% of volume; POC (Point of Control) is the most-traded price. Strong magnets and reversion levels.
PDH / PDL
Previous Day High / Low. Common targets and reaction points.
PMH / PML
Pre-Market High / Low, the extremes set before the RTH open. Common early support, resistance, and breakout reference levels.
Overnight High / Low (ONH/ONL) & Premarket Levels
Levels set outside RTH that often act as support and resistance.
Anchored VWAP
VWAP anchored to a specific event (open, swing, news) instead of session start.
Pivot Points
Support/resistance derived from the prior session's high, low, close.
Fibonacci Retracement / Extension
Ratio levels (38.2%, 50%, 61.8%) for pullback entries and targets.
Risk Management & Psychology 7
Daily Loss Limit / Max Daily Drawdown
A preset dollar or R loss that ends your trading day. Cornerstone of disciplined and prop-style trading.
R-Multiple
Results in multiples of initial risk (1R = your stop distance). A +2R trade made twice what you risked.
Breakeven Stop
Moving the stop to entry once price moves your way, taking risk off.
Trade Journal
Logging entries, exits, rationale, and emotion to find your edge and your leaks.
Overtrading
Too many low-quality trades, usually from boredom or FOMO.
Tilt
Emotionally compromised state after losses that drives bad decisions. Sibling of revenge trading.
MAE / MFE
Maximum Adverse / Favorable Excursion, how far a trade ran against or for you before close. Useful for tuning stops and targets.
Other Useful Terms 2
Economic Calendar & Key Events
Scheduled releases that move MNQ hard: FOMC decisions, CPI, PPI, NFP, PCE, and major tech earnings. Many traders flatten or size down around these.
Settlement Price
Official end-of-session reference used for daily mark-to-market.
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