Where can I trade S&P 500 E-mini futures?
E-mini S&P 500 futures are traded on the
CME E-mini S&P 500 futures contract, ticker symbol ES, is one of the most liquid futures contracts in the world and one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to gain market exposure to the S&P 500 index.
Micro E-mini futures allow retail investors to trade the major indices with a lower capital outlay than traditional futures contracts. Setting up a trading account with an online broker gives retail investors access to sophisticated technical analysis tools and charts.
Micro E-mini futures contract specifications. S&P 500 futures: 0.25, worth $1.25 per contract. NASDAQ-100 futures: 0.25, worth $0.50 per contract. Dow Jones futures: 1.00, worth $0.50 per contract.
E-mini S&P 500 futures are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and allow traders to gain exposure to the S&P 500 index, a widely recognized barometer of the U.S. stock market.
To trade E-minis, investors must open an account with a brokerage firm. Because they can be traded almost round the clock and have low volatility, margin rates, liquidity, and greater affordability, many active traders view the E-mini S&P 500 as their preferred trading instrument for the index.
There is no legal minimum on what balance you must maintain to day trade futures, although you must have enough in the account to cover all day trading margins and fluctuations which result from your positions. These can vary by broker however some require as little as $500 to open an account.
E-mini contracts are traded and offered widely on the CME for a number of different assets, but the E-mini S&P 500 contract is by far and away the most popular. The E-mini S&P 500 futures contract is 1/5 the size of the full S&P 500 futures contract and is one of the most popularly traded contracts in the world.
The E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures contract is $20 x the Nasdaq-100 index and has a minimum tick of 0.25 index points. Delayed data for E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures displayed in the table below includes for the open, high and low prices and volume for the active contracts.
For the E-mini S&P 500 contract (/ES), the maintenance margin is $12,000 per contract. The "multiplier" used to determine the notional value for Micro E-mini SPX contracts, at $5, is also one-tenth the size of the E-mini SPX contract.
What is the commission on E-mini futures?
Trading with the Free Account Plan has an associated commission rate of $0.35 per contract, per side for the Micro-Emini Futures. Please review the all-in-rates table for a breakdown of total fees per product for each Tradovate Account Plan.
What futures are most profitable? Trading in futures markets such as the Micro E-Mini Russell 2000 (M2K), Micro E-Mini S&P 500 (MES), Micro E-Mini Dow (MYM), and Micro E-Micro FX contracts can be highly profitable due to their distinct market characteristics.
E-mini S&P 500 Trading Hours
Trading is available 23.75 hours a day, 5 days a week, with the CME coming online on Sunday at 5:00 pm (CST) and closing again on Friday at 4:00 pm.
If the S&P 500 index is trading at 3,000, one Micro E-mini S&P 500 contract would be 3,000 times the $5 multiplier for a notional value of $15,000. The notional value of the E-mini S&P 500 would be $150,000 (3,000 x the $50 multiplier).
Contract Specifications
Outright: 0.25 Index points, equal to $1.25 per contract. Outright: 0.25 Index points, equal to $0.50 per contract. Outright: 0.10 Index points, equal to $0.50 per contract. Outright: 1.00 Index points, equal to $0.50 per contract.
An account minimum of $1,500 is required for margin accounts. A minimum net liquidation value (NLV) of $25,000 to trade futures in an IRA.
The current price of Micro E-mini S&P 500 Index Futures is 5107.50 USD — it has risen 0.02% in the past 24 hours.
The tick size for MES is 1.25, whereas, for the Mini, it's $12.5. It's essential to keep in mind that the Micro is 1/10th the size of the Mini/Standard. We hope that this information will be very helpful to you.
Conclusion. The integration of Ironbeam with TradingView provides a robust, efficient, and user-friendly platform for futures trading.
This can be a risky form of trading, but it also has the potential to generate large profits. If you are starting with a small amount of capital, such as $10 to $100, it is still possible to make money on futures trading.
What is the cheapest futures trading platform?
According to our rankings, Interactive Brokers stands out for having the lowest fees for futures trading. Interactive Brokers offers highly competitive commissions, charging only $0.85 per contract for opening a position and an identical $0.85 for closing it, with a monthly trading volume under $1,000.
⚖️ Charting Both platforms provide extensive historical data for backtesting strategies. Tradovate has a fast cloud-based system while NinjaTrader allows drawing advanced chart types. But NinjaTrader pulls ahead with more indicators, volumetric bars and level 2 data for order book visualization.
Some small futures brokers offer accounts with a minimum deposit of $500 or less, but some of the better-known brokers that offer futures will require minimum deposits of as much as $5,000 to $10,000.
Minimum Account Size
A pattern day trader who executes four or more round turns in a single security within a week is required to maintain a minimum equity of $25,000 in their brokerage account. But a futures trader is not required to meet this minimum account size.
Why Do I Have to Maintain Minimum Equity of $25,000? Day trading can be extremely risky—both for the day trader and for the brokerage firm that clears the day trader's transactions. Even if you end the day with no open positions, the trades you made while day trading most likely have not yet settled.
