Futures Trading Bot Guide: What to Know Before Automating NQ, ES and Gold
Before you build a futures trading bot for NQ/MNQ, ES/MES or Gold (GC/MGC): contract specs, micro vs mini, rollover, sizing, slippage and session rules explained.
A futures trading bot is only as sensible as the contract it trades. The same alert logic behaves very differently on the Nasdaq-100, the S&P 500 and gold, because each contract has its own point value, tick size, trading hours and character. This guide covers what to understand before you automate NQ/MNQ, ES/MES or Gold (GC/MGC): the specifications, the micro-versus-mini choice, rollover, sizing against a drawdown limit, slippage and end-of-day rules, and how a bot is set up in WeCore. It does not recommend any market or setting.
Contract specifications at a glance
Specifications are set by the exchange and can be amended, so confirm them on the official CME Group contract pages: E-mini Nasdaq-100, E-mini S&P 500 and Gold, plus the matching Micro pages. The table is a summary for orientation; the exchange pages are the authority, and you should check each value there before you size anything.
| Contract | Symbol | Multiplier | Tick size | Tick value | Expiry months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-mini Nasdaq-100 | NQ | $20 per index point | 0.25 | $5.00 | Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec |
| Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | MNQ | $2 per index point | 0.25 | $0.50 | Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec |
| E-mini S&P 500 | ES | $50 per index point | 0.25 | $12.50 | Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec |
| Micro E-mini S&P 500 | MES | $5 per index point | 0.25 | $1.25 | Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec |
| Gold | GC | 100 troy oz ($100 per $1) | $0.10 | $10.00 | Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec (and others) |
| Micro Gold | MGC | 10 troy oz ($10 per $1) | $0.10 | $1.00 | Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec (and others) |
Trading hours follow the CME Globex schedule, which runs almost around the clock from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon US Eastern time, with a short daily maintenance break. Exact hours, holiday schedules and early closes are published by CME and change, so do not hard-code them from memory. Our article on futures trading sessions explains how the trading day is structured.
Micro vs mini: the same market, a different size
The micro contracts are one tenth of the mini on the Nasdaq, the S&P and gold, so a one-point move is worth ten times less. For a bot this matters more than for a human, because the bot sends exactly the quantity you configured, every time. Sending `NQ` when you meant `MNQ` is a tenfold error in dollar risk. A longer comparison is in micro vs mini futures.
Two practical points for automation:
- Micros give finer sizing steps, which helps when a stop distance is wide relative to your risk budget.
- Fees are charged per contract, so ten micros usually cost more than one mini for the same exposure. Check your broker's schedule.
How each market behaves, in general terms
These are descriptions of structure, not predictions and not suggestions.
Nasdaq-100 (NQ / MNQ)
A technology-heavy index that usually moves more points per day than the S&P, so a stop of a given size in points is a larger dollar amount than people expect. It is very liquid during US hours and reacts to US economic data, large technology earnings and central bank events.
S&P 500 (ES / MES)
A broad US large-cap benchmark with very deep liquidity. Each point is worth more per contract than NQ ($50 versus $20). Scheduled US data releases and the US cash-session open and close are the usual moments of faster movement.
Gold (GC / MGC)
Gold is a metals contract on COMEX. It is priced in dollars per ounce and has different drivers: interest-rate expectations, the US dollar, geopolitical news and central-bank announcements. It trades through several regional sessions, so liquidity changes across the day. We make no statement about how any strategy behaves on gold.
Comparison table
| Factor | NQ / MNQ | ES / MES | GC / MGC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Underlying | Nasdaq-100 index | S&P 500 index | Gold (COMEX) |
| One tick (mini / micro) | $5.00 / $0.50 | $12.50 / $1.25 | $10.00 / $1.00 |
| One full point (mini / micro) | $20 / $2 | $50 / $5 | $100 / $10 per $1 |
| News sensitivity | US data, tech earnings, central banks | US data, central banks | Rates, US dollar, geopolitics |
| Liquidity pattern | Concentrated in US hours | Concentrated in US hours | Spread over several sessions |
| Rollover cycle | Quarterly | Quarterly | Bi-monthly (and others) |
Never copy a stop measured in points from one market to another. The same number of points means a very different dollar amount.
Rollover and continuous tickers
Futures expire. Each contract month has its own symbol, such as MNQZ2026 for the December 2026 Micro Nasdaq contract. A bot hard-wired to one month will hit an expired contract when that month ends. For the mechanics, read futures contract rollover.
Charting platforms handle this with continuous tickers such as `NQ1!`, `ES1!` and `GC1!`, which stitch the front month into one series. WeCore accepts these in the alert message and resolves `NQ1!`, `MNQ1!`, `ES1!`, `MES1!`, `GC1!` and `MGC1!` to the current front-month contract automatically, so you do not need to edit your alert at every roll. Two things remain yours to handle: choosing mini or micro correctly, and remembering that a continuous chart has roll gaps, so price levels from a continuous series can shift at a roll.
Sizing against a prop drawdown (hypothetical numbers)
Take a hypothetical account with a $2,500 maximum loss limit, and a personal rule of never risking more than 10% of that room on one trade, so $250. These numbers only illustrate the arithmetic.
- A 20-point stop on NQ is $400 per contract, already above the budget.
- The same 20 points on MNQ is $40 per contract, so up to six MNQ contracts stay within $250.
- A 5-point stop on ES is $250 per contract; on MES it is $25, so up to ten MES.
- A $4 stop on gold is $400 per GC contract, or $40 per MGC contract.
Add commissions and an allowance for slippage to every line. And remember that a bot can take several trades in a row: daily and trailing limits count the sum. See prop firm drawdown types and position sizing methods for the underlying ideas.
Slippage and execution
Backtests usually assume a clean fill at the signal price. Real orders do not get that. Market orders in fast conditions or at news releases can fill several ticks away, and a tick has a different cost in each market: $5 on NQ, $12.50 on ES, $10 on GC. Limit orders reduce that uncertainty but can miss the market. Thin overnight hours widen the spread, particularly on micros. When you test a bot, include a realistic per-trade slippage allowance and think about whether to stand aside around scheduled releases. More in slippage and execution costs.
Session rules and flat-by times
Many prop firms require positions to be closed by a set time before the end of the trading day, and the CME trading day boundary is 17:00 Chicago time. A bot has no instinct to go home, so build the rule in: a time-based exit before the firm's cutoff, and no new entries after your chosen window. Holiday and early-close days need a manual check. Read the firm's own rules for its exact deadline and for whether automation is allowed at all; see prop firms that allow automation.
How a bot is set up in WeCore
WeCore is software that connects your signals to your broker account. It is not a broker, holds no money and does not trade for you. There are two common routes:
- Alerts from TradingView. Your alert sends a JSON message to your private webhook URL with the ticker (for example `MNQ1!`), the action, the quantity and an optional stop and target in points. Setup is covered in how to connect TradingView alerts to WeCore.
- Your own strategy on your own trading server, or a ready-made family from WeAlgo, which runs with your own broker data. Inside the app, the Strategy Builder (Tools, then Strategy Builder, with an active plan) turns your own written rules into a strategy and backtests it on stored historical data; it does not invent or recommend rules.
Whichever route you use, new broker accounts start in Simulation mode, where orders are recorded but not sent. Save your risk rules (maximum daily loss, position size, allowed symbols) before switching to live, and read how to set risk limits in WeCore. Our guide to TradingView webhooks lists the delivery limits to expect.
If you would like to try this in Simulation, you are welcome to see the plans or create an account when it suits you.
FAQ
Is it better to automate NQ, ES or gold?
We do not recommend any market. Each has a different point value, schedule and set of drivers, so the useful question is which one fits your own rules and risk limits.
Should a bot trade micro or mini contracts?
Micros are one tenth of the size, so they allow finer position sizing against a drawdown limit. Whichever you choose, make sure the symbol in the alert matches the size you intended.
Do I need to change the ticker when a contract expires?
If you use a continuous ticker such as MNQ1! or GC1!, WeCore resolves it to the current front-month contract automatically. If you type a dated contract, you must update it yourself.
Where do I verify tick size and trading hours?
On the official CME Group contract specification page for each product. Specifications and holiday schedules can change, so check them before sizing a bot.
Can I test a futures bot without risking money?
Yes. New WeCore broker accounts start in Simulation mode, and there is also a WeCore Paper simulation account. Simulated fills differ from live fills, so treat the results with caution.
This article is general information, not investment advice, and makes no promise of results. Futures trading carries a high risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone; you are responsible for your own decisions.