• A futures market is an exchange where futures contracts are traded by participants interested in buying or selling these derivatives.

  • In the US, futures markets are largely regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with futures contracts being standardized by exchanges.
  • Today, most trading in the futures markets takes place electronically, including, for example, CME and ICE.
  • Unlike most stock markets, futures markets can trade 24 hours a day.