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Equity Index Futures
Seven of our 14 targets are CME Group equity index futures: four e-minis (ES, NQ, YM, RTY) and three micros at exactly 1/10th their size (MES, MNQ, M2K). All are cash-settled quarterlies (Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec) that terminate at 9:30 a.m. ET on the third Friday of the contract month to a Special Opening Quotation (SOQ) of the underlying index; micros settle to the same values as their e-mini parents and are position-offset eligible against them at 10:1 (CME Micro E-mini FAQ). Micros launched May 6, 2019 (same FAQ), so micro price history predates nothing before that — backtests deeper than 2019 must use e-mini data.
Shared session mechanics (all seven): Globex Sunday 6:00 p.m. – Friday 5:00 p.m. ET; daily maintenance break 5:00–6:00 p.m. ET; daily equity-only trading halt 4:15–4:30 p.m. ET; daily settlement = 30-second VWAP ending 4:00 p.m. ET (14:59:30–15:00:00 CT) (CME wiki, tastytrade hours). Coordinated 7%/13%/20% circuit breakers plus overnight limits apply (CME price-limits FAQ).
Margin figures below: TradeStation overnight initial (long) / maintenance, retrieved 2026-07-11 from the TradeStation margin page (CME's public margin API omits these SPAN-2 products — see the overview). Volume/OI: trade date 2026-07-10, preliminary, per the ProductSlate JSON.
ES — E-mini S&P 500
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name / exchange | E-mini S&P 500 Futures, CME (spec page) |
| Contract size | $50 × S&P 500 Index (10× MES's $5 multiplier per Micro FAQ) |
| Quote / tick | Index points; 0.25 pt = $12.50 (0.05 pt = $2.50 calendar-spread tick) |
| Hours (ET) | Sun 6:00 p.m.–Fri 5:00 p.m.; halt 4:15–4:30 p.m.; maintenance 5:00–6:00 p.m. |
| Listed months | Quarterly Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec; long-dated: 22 quarterlies listed out to Sep 2031 per calendar API (verified as of 2026-07-11) |
| Settlement | Cash; daily 30-sec VWAP to 3:00 p.m. CT; final = SOQ, 9:30 a.m. ET 3rd Friday (wiki) |
| First notice | None (cash-settled) |
| Margin | $27,536 initial / $25,033 maint. overnight (long), TradeStation, retrieved 2026-07-11 |
| Volume / OI | 1,078,031 / 1,971,382 (2026-07-10 prelim) |
| Micro/full relationship | Parent of MES (10:1, offset-eligible) |
MES — Micro E-mini S&P 500
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name / exchange | Micro E-mini S&P 500 Index Futures, CME (spec page) |
| Contract size | $5 × S&P 500 Index (Micro FAQ) |
| Quote / tick | Index points; 0.25 pt = $1.25 (0.05 pt spread tick) |
| Hours (ET) | Same as ES |
| Listed months | 5 consecutive quarterlies (calendar API, 2026-07-11) |
| Settlement | Cash; settles to ES-derived values; final = same SOQ as ES, 3rd Friday |
| First notice | None |
| Margin | $2,753 initial / $2,503 maint. overnight, TradeStation, retrieved 2026-07-11 |
| Volume / OI | 820,575 / 195,241 (2026-07-10 prelim) |
| Micro/full relationship | 1/10 of ES; launched 2019-05-06 — no earlier history |
NQ — E-mini Nasdaq-100
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name / exchange | E-mini Nasdaq-100 Futures, CME (spec page) |
| Contract size | $20 × Nasdaq-100 Index (10× MNQ's $2 per Micro FAQ) |
| Quote / tick | Index points; 0.25 pt = $5.00 |
| Hours (ET) | Same as ES |
| Listed months | Quarterly; 12 contracts listed through Dec 2031 (quarterlies + added Decembers) per calendar API (2026-07-11) |
| Settlement | Cash; final = Nasdaq-100 SOQ, 9:30 a.m. ET 3rd Friday |
| First notice | None |
| Margin | $42,852 initial / $38,956 maint. overnight (long), TradeStation, retrieved 2026-07-11 |
| Volume / OI | 432,329 / 278,951 (2026-07-10 prelim) |
| Micro/full relationship | Parent of MNQ (10:1) |
MNQ — Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name / exchange | Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 Index Futures, CME (spec page) |
| Contract size | $2 × Nasdaq-100 Index |
| Quote / tick | Index points; 0.25 pt = $0.50 |
| Hours (ET) | Same as ES |
| Listed months | 5 consecutive quarterlies (pattern per MES; verify on spec page) |
| Settlement | Cash; NQ-derived; final = same SOQ as NQ |
| First notice | None |
| Margin | $4,286 initial / $3,896 maint. overnight, TradeStation, retrieved 2026-07-11 |
| Volume / OI | 2,397,979 / 194,264 (2026-07-10 prelim) — the single highest contract count of all 14 targets; in contract terms MNQ out-trades NQ ~5.5:1, but each MNQ is 1/10 the notional |
| Micro/full relationship | 1/10 of NQ; launched 2019-05-06 |
YM — E-mini Dow ($5)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name / exchange | E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Futures ($5 multiplier), CBOT — note: the only equity target on CBOT rather than CME (spec page) |
| Contract size | $5 × DJIA (10× MYM's $0.50 per Micro FAQ) |
| Quote / tick | Index points; 1.00 pt = $5.00 |
| Hours (ET) | Same as ES |
| Listed months | 4 quarterlies listed through Jun 2027 per calendar API (2026-07-11) |
| Settlement | Cash; final = DJIA SOQ, 9:30 a.m. ET 3rd Friday |
| First notice | None |
| Margin | $16,647 initial / $15,133 maint. overnight, TradeStation, retrieved 2026-07-11 |
| Volume / OI | 68,410 / 78,299 (2026-07-10 prelim) — thinnest of the four e-minis; fine for swing sizing, thin for large scalps |
| Micro/full relationship | Parent of MYM (not in our target list — not offered on Wealthsimple; MYM traded 119,152 on 2026-07-10 — more contracts than YM itself, so YM is the only Dow exposure available to this project) |
RTY — E-mini Russell 2000
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name / exchange | E-mini Russell 2000 Index Futures, CME (spec page) |
| Contract size | $50 × Russell 2000 Index (10× M2K's $5 per Micro FAQ) |
| Quote / tick | Index points; 0.10 pt = $5.00 |
| Hours (ET) | Same as ES |
| Listed months | Quarterly; 11 contracts listed through Dec 2030 per calendar API (2026-07-11) |
| Settlement | Cash; final = Russell 2000 SOQ, 3rd Friday |
| First notice | None |
| Margin | $11,960 initial / $10,873 maint. overnight (long), TradeStation, retrieved 2026-07-11 |
| Volume / OI | 127,266 / 401,041 (2026-07-10 prelim) |
| Micro/full relationship | Parent of M2K (10:1). History note: Russell 2000 futures traded on ICE 2008–2017 before relisting on CME on July 10, 2017 (CME press release, verified as of 2026-07-11) — pre-2017 continuous series splice across exchanges |
M2K — Micro E-mini Russell 2000
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name / exchange | Micro E-mini Russell 2000 Index Futures, CME (spec page) |
| Contract size | $5 × Russell 2000 Index |
| Quote / tick | Index points; 0.10 pt = $0.50 |
| Hours (ET) | Same as ES |
| Listed months | 5 consecutive quarterlies (pattern per MES; verify on spec page) |
| Settlement | Cash; RTY-derived; final = same SOQ as RTY |
| First notice | None |
| Margin | $1,196 initial / $1,087 maint. overnight, TradeStation, retrieved 2026-07-11 |
| Volume / OI | 99,538 / 27,599 (2026-07-10 prelim) |
| Micro/full relationship | 1/10 of RTY; launched 2019-05-06 |