E-mini S&P 500 Futures (ES) Contract Specifications
What you're trading
The E-mini S&P 500 future (ES) gives you exposure to the S&P 500 Index — a capitalization-weighted index of 500 of the largest U.S. public companies, widely treated as the benchmark for U.S. large-cap equities. One ES contract behaves like a leveraged stake in the broader U.S. stock market and is among the most liquid futures contracts in the world, making it a go-to instrument for hedging equity exposure, expressing macro views on the U.S. economy, or trading around scheduled events like FOMC announcements, CPI releases, and earnings season.
Contract size
$50 × S&P 500 Index. With the index near 6,800, one ES contract carries a notional value of roughly $340,000 — so a small percentage move in the index produces a meaningful dollar P&L per contract.
Tick value
Minimum price fluctuation is 0.25 index points, and each tick is worth $12.50 per contract. A full 1-point move equals $50, and a 10-point move equals $500 per contract.
Trading hours
CME Globex: Sunday 5:00 p.m. CT through Friday 4:00 p.m. CT, with a daily maintenance halt from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT Monday through Thursday. That works out to nearly 23 hours of trading per weekday.
Settlement type
Cash-settled. Contracts expire quarterly on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December (months H, M, U, Z), settling to the Special Opening Quotation of the S&P 500 Index. No physical delivery of shares — any open position at expiration is settled in cash against the final settlement value.
Margin snapshot
Exchange margins set by CME are the floor; your MetroTrade account may require more, and day-trade margins are typically much lower than overnight requirements.
|
Initial margin (overnight) |
~$17,000–$19,000 per contract (approximate; varies with volatility) |
|
Maintenance margin |
~$15,500–$17,500 per contract |
|
Day-trade margin |
Broker-set; often a fraction of overnight margin |
|
Notional value (reference) |
~$340,000 at index 6,800 |
Margins change with market volatility and vary by broker. The figures above are approximate and for reference only — always confirm current requirements with MetroTrade support or on the CME margin page before trading.