TAIEX futures symbol codes: TX, MTX, TMF and month codes
TAIFEX lists TAIEX futures as TX, MTX and TMF. A specific contract adds a month letter and a year digit. A near-month, full-session name is a vendor's continuous series, and each vendor writes that code differently.
By Soren Huang · Published · updated · Editorial policy
Contents
台指近全 is not an exchange code. It is a data-vendor name for a continuous series of the TAIEX futures (TX) near-month contract that covers both the day and the night session. TAIFEX's product codes are TX, MTX and TMF. A specific contract adds a month letter and a year digit, and each vendor writes its continuous code differently.
What are the TAIEX futures product codes?
TAIFEX lists three futures on the TAIEX index, and they differ only in size. A product code is the short name the exchange gives one futures product, such as TX. All three track the same index and trade at almost the same price. The only difference is how much money one index point is worth.
| Product code | Name | Chinese name | Code in TAIFEX trading-system symbols | Value of one index point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TX | TAIEX Futures | 臺股期貨 (大台) | TXF | NT$200 |
| MTX | Mini-TAIEX Futures | 小型臺指期貨 (小台) | MXF | NT$50 |
| TMF | Micro TAIEX Futures | 微型臺指期貨 (微台) | TMF | NT$10 |
The minimum price move for all three is one index point. That makes one tick worth NT$200, NT$50 or NT$10. To see what a given move is worth for each product, use the futures contract calculator for tick and point value.
Note the two spellings. TAIFEX's product pages say TX and MTX. The codes used in TAIFEX trading-system symbols and in many Taiwanese broker feeds say TXF and MXF. Both refer to the same product. Exchanges can change contract specifications, so check the current values on TAIFEX's contract specification page for each product.
How do month letters and the year digit work?
A contract code joins the product code, one letter for the expiry month and one digit for the year. A contract code is the name of one tradable contract with a fixed expiry, for example the January contract of one year. The difficulty is that two different month-letter systems are in common use, and they use some of the same letters for different months.
| Month | TAIFEX-style letter | International futures letter |
|---|---|---|
| January | A | F |
| February | B | G |
| March | C | H |
| April | D | J |
| May | E | K |
| June | F | M |
| July | G | N |
| August | H | Q |
| September | I | U |
| October | J | V |
| November | K | X |
| December | L | Z |
The TAIFEX-style letters simply run A to L in calendar order. The international letters are the convention used by most US exchanges and many global data vendors. The letters F, G, H, J and K appear in both systems with different meanings. In the TAIFEX system F is June. In the international system F is January.
The year is usually the last digit of the year only. A single digit repeats every ten years, so the same code can point to two contracts a decade apart. Vendors resolve this from context, but a file that stores only the code loses that context.
Hypothetical example
The code TXFC6 in TAIFEX style reads as TXF (TAIEX Futures), C (March), 6 (a year ending in 6, such as 2026). A vendor that uses international letters might write the same contract as TXH6 or TXH26. If a script reads TXFC6 with the international table, it finds no month C at all. If it reads MXFF6 with the international table, it decides the contract is January when it is June.
What is the difference between a continuous code and a specific contract?
A specific contract stops trading at expiry, so a long backtest needs a continuous series that joins many contracts into one line. A continuous series is a price history built by taking one contract, switching to the next contract at a roll date, and repeating. The roll is the moment the series stops using the expiring contract and starts using the next one.
The TX near-month contract settles on the third Wednesday of its delivery month. Near-month means the contract that expires first. A near-month series therefore switches contracts once a month, usually after that settlement day. The TAIEX futures settlement dates tool lists these days, so you can check where each roll in your data should be.
Names like 台指近全 describe three choices at once:
- Product: 台指 means TX. 小台 means MTX.
- Contract: 近 means near-month. 次 or 遠 would mean a later month.
- Session: 全 means the day and night sessions together. A day-only series leaves the night session out.
The session part matters because TAIFEX runs a day session from 08:45 to 13:45 and an after-hours session from 15:00 to 05:00 the next morning, Taiwan time. A full-session series and a day-only series of the same contract give different bars and different backtests. The article on 小台近全: near-month, full-session data in backtests covers the session side in detail. The guide to 台指全 and all-sessions TAIEX futures data covers how the series is joined.
A fourth choice is usually not visible in the name: whether the series is back-adjusted. A back-adjusted series shifts older prices to remove the price jump at each roll. An unadjusted series keeps the real traded prices and shows the jump. Both are valid. They give different price levels, so indicator values that depend on the price level can differ between them.
How do vendor and platform codes map to each other?
There is no shared standard for continuous codes, so you build your own mapping table once and keep it. Each data vendor, broker feed and trading platform invents its own way to say "TX near-month, full session". Some add a suffix number for near-month and next month. Some add a session tag. Some use a word such as "continuous". The exchange product code is the only part they usually share. When a strategy leaves through the platform export in AlphaPrime (Valynox) as MultiCharts or NinjaTrader source code, the symbol you attach on that platform should come from this same mapping table.
For each symbol you use, record these fields:
| Field | What to write down | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Product | TX, MTX or TMF | Sets the point value and the cost per trade |
| Contract or roll rule | One contract month, or near-month with the roll day | Decides which prices appear around expiry |
| Session | Day only, or day and night | Changes the number of bars and overnight gaps |
| Adjustment | Back-adjusted or unadjusted | Changes the price level of older bars |
| Month-letter system | TAIFEX style or international | Avoids reading the wrong month |
| Time stamp | Taiwan time or another zone; bar open or bar close time | Shifts every session filter if it is wrong |
Hypothetical example
A trader keeps one row per series. Vendor A calls the series "TX near full". Vendor B calls it "TXF1-ALL". The platform calls it "TX continuous". All three rows say: product TX, near-month with a roll after the third Wednesday, day and night session, unadjusted, Taiwan time, bars stamped at the close. If any field differs between two rows, they are not the same series, even if the names look alike.
How do you avoid mismatched symbols in a backtest?
Most symbol errors do not show on a chart, so check them with numbers before you trust any result. TX, MTX and TMF trade at nearly the same price. If you load MTX prices but the backtest uses the TX point value, the chart looks correct while every profit and loss is four times too large.
Hypothetical example
A strategy captures 100 index points on one trade. With MTX settings that is 100 × NT$50 = NT$5,000. With TX settings by mistake it is 100 × NT$200 = NT$20,000. The price line is the same in both runs. Only the money changes.
Run these checks in order each time you load a new series:
- Point value. Confirm the backtest uses NT$200, NT$50 or NT$10 to match the product in the file, not the product you meant to load.
- Costs. Set commission and slippage for that same product. A cost per contract that fits TX is far too large relative to a TMF contract.
- Bars per day. Count the bars on a normal trading day. A full-session series has many more bars than a day-only series. A count between the two often means missing night data.
- Roll days. Find the price jumps in an unadjusted series and compare them with the settlement calendar. Jumps on other days point to a different roll rule or to bad data.
- Year digit. When you load single contracts by code, confirm the first and last bar dates. A contract from the wrong decade has the right code and the wrong dates.
- Time zone and time stamp. Check that the first bar of the day session sits at 08:45 Taiwan time, or at the close time of that bar if the vendor stamps bars at the close.
Gaps, bad ticks and time-zone shifts are covered in the article on backtest data quality: gaps, bad ticks, time zones and rolls. Once the series passes these checks, backtesting in AlphaPrime lets you set the trading session, fees and slippage for that product and always uses next-bar execution, so the results use the same contract you checked.
What this means if you use AlphaPrime: AlphaPrime backtests the historical bar data you load, and TAIEX futures are supported, so the symbol work happens before the import. Write down the product, roll rule and session of each file, then enter the matching point value, costs and session in the research settings.
Frequently asked questions
What is the code for 台指近全?
台指近全 is a vendor name, not an exchange code. It means a continuous series of the TX near-month contract with day and night sessions included. Each data vendor and platform writes its own symbol for it, so look it up in that vendor's symbol list and confirm the product, roll rule and session.
Is TX the same as TXF?
Yes. TX is the product code on TAIFEX's product pages for TAIEX Futures. TXF is the code used in TAIFEX trading-system symbols and many Taiwanese broker feeds. In the same way, MTX appears as MXF, and the Micro TAIEX Futures code is TMF.
What does the letter in a TAIEX futures contract code mean?
It is the expiry month. In TAIFEX-style codes the letters run A for January to L for December. In the international futures convention F is January, H is March, M is June, U is September and Z is December. Check which system your data source uses before reading a code.
Can I use TX price data to test an MTX strategy?
The prices of TX and MTX track the same index closely, so the price shape is very similar. The point value, costs and liquidity are different. If you use TX prices, set the MTX point value of NT$50 and MTX costs in the backtest.
When does a TAIEX near-month series roll?
The TX near-month contract settles on the third Wednesday of its delivery month, and a near-month series normally moves to the next contract after that day. Some vendors roll on a different rule, such as trading volume. Compare the price jumps in your data with the settlement calendar to see which rule your vendor used.