S&P 500 Futures

S&P Futures Market

As part of the financial futures complex of products within commodities futures, the S&P 500 futures index is one of the most widely traded index commodities futures contracts in the U.S. Stock portfolio managers who want to hedge risk over a certain period of time often use S&P 500 futures to do so. By shorting these contracts, stock portfolio managers can protect themselves from the downside price risk of the broader market.

S&P 500 Market History

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) introduced trading in S&P 500 futures in 1982. The contracts are based on the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500), which contains many of the largest companies in the world. Therefore, movement in the direction of the S&P futures is one of the best indicators of overall short-term market direction. The S&P E-mini futures contract was introduced by the CME 1997, after the value of the existing S&P contract (then valued at 500 times the index, or over $500,000) became too large for many small traders.

S&P 500 Facts

S&P 500 futures contracts give buyers the right to a basket of the stocks in the S&P 500 on expiration date. Now priced at 250 times the index, they’re used mostly by institutional investors with the exception of E-mini futures contracts, which have a lower value and are used by retail investors.

S&P Futures Trading

The main reason that S&P futures are so popular for detecting strength is because the contract trades 24 hours a day on financial exchanges around the world. It allows traders and brokers to gauge the futures levels within commodities futures markets before the actual stock markets open.

• S&P 500 Futures are traded on the CME Globex platform.
• S&P 500 Index futures contracts expire each quarter, always on the third Friday of March, June, September and December.
• The CME offers three sizes of the S&P 500 contract: the standard “big” futures contract, the S&P 500 “E-mini” contract and the Micro E-mini contract.
• The standard contract is what the institutions and commercials trade.
• At one-fifth the size, the S&P E-mini futures contract is more affordable to retail traders, with lower day-trading margin requirements.
• Delivery months for S&P 500 futures occur in all months.

S&P 500 Futures E-mini Contract Specifications