The E-Mini S&P 500 (ES) is a stock index futures contract traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The futures instrument is based on the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock market index, which is made up of 500 large-cap organizations. It was introduced in 1997 when the value of the S&P 500 contract became too large for the average investor.
Why trade E-Mini futures?
ES Futures offers traders a profitable and highly liquid avenue to gain market exposure to the S&P 500 Index. can be traded with relatively little capital. Leverage can be a double-edged sword, increasing both potential profits and losses. You should always know your capital and trade within your risk tolerance.
At 1/5 the size of a standard stock index contract and with virtually round-the-clock electronic access, the E-mini S&P is an attractive investment vehicle for retail traders and is widely regarded as an important barometer of market sentiment.
E-Mini S&P 500 Futures Specifications:
- Swap: Chicago Commercial Exchange (CME)
- Class: Futures contracts
- Trade symbol: IT IS
- Contract size: 50x the S&P 500 index
- Price unit: U.S. dollars
- brand size: 0 . 25
- Brand value: $12. fifty
- Point value: 1 = $50
- Average daily volume: 1,770,753 (year to date May 2022)
- Intraday margin: $500
- Month of contract: March, June and September, December
- Trading hours: Sunday – Friday 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
- Position limit: 20,000
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