E-mini

Template:Short description E-minis are futures contracts that represent a fraction of the value of standard futures. They are traded primarily on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. As of April, 2011, CME lists 44 unique E-mini contracts,<ref name="cme_margins"/> of which approximately 10 have average daily trading volumes of over 1,000 contracts.<ref name="CME_reports_archive" />

Some E-mini contracts provide trading advantages, including high liquidity, greater affordability for individual investors due to lower margin requirements than the full-size contracts, and round-the-clock trading 23.25 hours a day from Sunday afternoon to Friday afternoon. Under U.S. tax law, E-minis may qualify as 1256 Contracts, and benefit from several tax advantages as well.

The risk of loss is also amplified by the higher leverage.

Symbology

Most E-mini futures expire quarterly (with the exception of agricultural products), in March, June, September, and December. An E-mini future symbol is formed by starting with the root symbol and adding the expiration month letter (the same as for futures) and the last digit of the expiration year. For example, the E-mini S&P 500 expiring in December 2012 has the symbol ESZ2.

E-mini contracts

The table below lists some of the more popular E-mini contracts, with the initial and maintenance margins required by CME.<ref name="cme_margins">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Note that individual brokers may require different margin amounts (also called performance bonds).

E-minis

E-mini contract	Exchange	Ticker symbol	Multiplier	Tick size	Tick value	Initial margin	Maintenance margin	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
E-Mini S&P 500 (Dollar)	CME	ES	$50	0.25	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>|| $13,200 || $12,000 || 1,766,663
Micro E-mini S&P 500<ref name="cmegroup-microemini">Trade Micro E-mini Futures - Active Trader – CME Group</ref>	CME	MES	$5	0.25	$1.25	$1,320	$1,200
E-Mini S&P 500 (Euro)	CME	EME	€50	0.25	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || €6,188 || €4,950 ||
E-mini Dow ($5) Futures	CME	YM	$5	1	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $13,200 || $12,000 || 239,382
Micro E-mini Dow<ref name="cmegroup-microemini"/>	CME	MYM	$0.50	1	$0.50	$1,320	$1,200
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 Futures	CME	EMD	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $7,500 || $6,000 || 19,647
E-mini S&P SmallCap 600 Futures	CME	SMC	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,250 || $2,600 || 0
E-mini NASDAQ-100 Futures	CME	NQ	$20	0.25	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $16,500 || $15,000 || 492,839
Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100<ref name="cmegroup-microemini"/>	CME	MNQ	$2	0.25	$0.50	$1,500	$1,500
E-mini NASDAQ Composite Futures	CME	QCN	$20	0.50	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $4,000 || $3,200 ||
E-mini NASDAQ Biotechnology Futures	CME	BIO	$50	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,750 || $3,000 ||
E-mini S&P CNX Nifty (Nifty 50) futures	CME	EMF	$10	0.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,125 || $2,500 || 216
E-mini FTSE/XINHUA China 25 Futures	CME	FXN	$5	5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $13,750 || $11,000
E-mini JPY/USD Futures	CME	J7	6,250,000 Japanese yen	$.000001	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,038 || $2,250 || 648
E-mini EUR/USD Futures	CME	E7	62,500 euro	$.0001	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $2,025 || $1,500 || 4,859
E-mini Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Futures	CME	XAY	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,125 || $2,500	944
E-mini Consumer Staples Select Sector Futures	CME	XAP	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $1,750 || $1,400	1,335
E-mini Energy Select Sector Futures	CME	XAF	$250	0.05	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $6,500 || $5,200	1,823
E-mini Health Care Select Sector Futures	CME	XAV	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $2,500 || $2,000	1,207
E-mini Industrial Select Sector Futures	CME	XAI	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,125 || $2,500	1,094
E-mini Materials Select Sector Futures	CME	XAB	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,125 || $2,500	668
E-mini Technology Select Sector Futures	CME	XAK	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $1,750 || $1,400	1,945
E-mini Utilities Select Sector Futures	CME	XAU	$100	0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $2,500 || $2,000	2,057
Mini-Sized Corn Futures	CME (formerly CBOT)	YC	1,000 bushels (~ 25 Metric Tons)	$0.00125	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $473 || $350 || 472
Mini-sized Soybean Futures	CME (formerly CBOT)	YK	1,000 bushels (~ 27 metric tons)	$0.00125	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $945 || $700 || 1,086
Mini-sized Wheat Futures	CME (formerly CBOT)	YW	1,000 bushels (~ 27 metric tons)	$0.00125	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $810 || $600 || 349
E-mini Light Sweet Crude Oil (Financial)	CME (formerly NYMEX)	QM	500 barrels	$0.025	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,375 || $2,500 || 18,621
E-mini Natural Gas Futures	CME (formerly NYMEX)	QG	2,500 million BTUs	$0.005	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $1,013 || $750 || 1,718
E-mini Heating Oil - Financial Futures	CME (formerly NYMEX)	QH	21,000 gallons	$0.001	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,206 || $2,375 || 0
E-mini New York Harbor RBOB Gasoline Futures	CME (formerly NYMEX)	QU	21,000 gallons	$0.0001	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,881 || $2,875 || 0
COMEX E-Mini Gold Futures	CME (formerly COMEX)	QO	50 troy ounces	$0.25	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $3,376 || $2,500 || 383
E-mini Silver Futures	CME (formerly COMEX)	6Q	1,000 troy ounces	$0.005	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $2,349 || $1,740 || 53
COMEX miNY Copper	CME (formerly COMEX)	QC	12,500 pounds	$0.002	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> || $2,869 || $2,125 || 21
Russell 1000® Index Mini Futures	ICE (formerly NYBOT)	RF	$100	$0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>			727
Russell 2000® Index Mini Futures	ICE (formerly NYBOT)	TF	$50	$0.10	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>			150,100
Micro E-mini Russell 2000<ref name="cmegroup-microemini"/>	CME	M2K	$5	0.10	$0.50

E-mini options

Options on E-minis exist for the E-mini S&P 500<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the E-mini NASDAQ-100.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• E-mini S&P
• E-micro
• Dow futures
• NASDAQ futures
• S&P futures
• 1256 Contract

References

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