MNQ Futures (Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100): Tick Value, Expiries, Order Flow

MNQ contract specifications

The rulebook defines MNQ as $2 times the Nasdaq-100, quoted in index points. The minimum increment is 0.25 point, equal to $0.50 per contract. Four ticks make a point, so one index point is worth $2. MNQ is cash-settled: the expiring month settles to a special opening quotation of the index on the third Friday of the contract month. Senzoukria's contract table carries the same tick, multiplier and venue (CME); the simulated account, the picker's tick hint and the heatmap's price grid read them from it.

MNQ expiry rule and next contracts

Trading in an expiring MNQ contract ends at the regularly scheduled start of trading on the primary listing exchange on the day of the final settlement price, the third Friday of the contract month. If the index is not scheduled to be published that Friday, settlement moves to the first preceding business day on which it is.

June 18, 2027 is the observed Juneteenth holiday, so the exchange calendar puts the MNQM7 last trading day on June 17, 2027. Senzoukria's expiry engine counts Monday to Friday without a holiday table and uses June 18, 2027 instead, so its picker keeps MNQM7 listed until then. For MNQZ6, the default moves to the next listed month on December 10, 2026 (8 calendar days before December 18, 2026), and MNQZ6 stays selectable with its badge until that date.

MNQ tick value and P&L arithmetic

• 10 ticks (2.5 points) = 10 × $0.50 = $5 per contract.
• A 15-point stop is 60 ticks: 15 × $2 = $30 per contract, $90 on 3 contracts.
• The same 15 points on NQ are worth $300 per contract.
• One tick of slippage, the automatic backtest's default, costs $0.50 per MNQ contract on each entry.

Reading MNQ order flow

With row resolution off, Senzoukria's default, an MNQ footprint shows four rows per index point, each cell holding the volume traded at the bid and at the ask at that exact price. The fixed choices give 2 ticks = 0.5, 4 ticks = 1, 8 ticks = 2, 16 ticks = 4, 32 ticks = 8 points per row; grouping keeps bar totals exact, but the POC then names a row instead of a price.

MNQ has its own order book and tape. An NQ block never appears in an MNQ footprint, and MNQ depth does not mirror NQ depth level for level. The DOM panel's default "Large orders ≥ 40" threshold was chosen for MNQ-class books.

The NQ/MNQ guide's example footprint step is four ticks per row, which turns each MNQ row into one index point. Whatever step you choose, keep it fixed across sessions if you compare bars from one day to the next.

Using MNQ in Senzoukria

• Symbol picker on a Rithmic or Databento CME source: type MNQ; on September 25, 2026 the listed contract is MNQZ6 (December 2026).
• Heatmap and DOM show the book of that exact contract; the heatmap ladder header names the contract and its venue, CME.
• GEX overlay: levels computed from QQQ options are converted to the MNQ price with a spot ratio and labelled with the underlying ("CW · QQQ"); an options data source is required.
• Replay lists MNQ in the Indices group and replays the broker's tick history, without the order book. In the automatic backtest, set Point value ($) to 2; the field defaults to 2, the MNQ value.