The CME Group launched micro e-mini contracts for four major indices on May 6, 2019. These contracts allow market participants to gain exposure to price fluctuations in the S&P 500, Russell 2000, Dow Jones 30 and Nasdaq100 indices at a much lower cost than the existing e-mini futures.
The new Micro-Emini contracts are 1/10 the size of their respective equity indexes. The benefits of having a smaller multiplier are the ability to scale out. For example a trader who might only be trading 1 ES contract can now trade 10 Micro ES contracts with the same buying power effect and then be able to exit at multiple profit targets, trailing a stop and staying in winning trades longer.
Since the onset, these contracts proved extremely popular. The micro e-mini S&P 500 futures hit a volume of almost 417,000 contracts traded on June 3, 2019, though it’s cooled off a bit since then. These micro contract volumes are approximately 25% the volume of their much more established e-mini cousins.
Reasons CME Micro E-mini Futures are the future for futures trading
Growing numbers of retail traders
CME Group noted that trading patterns had shifted dramatically in recent years, with growing numbers of retail traders. Based on 2018’s figures, its non-institutional trading volume had grown 27% compared to the previous year, with active traders averaging 660,000 contracts each day. On a global scale, active trader participation on CME Group markets rose by 30% in Asia and by 36% in Europe during the same period.
Micros are available on the most liquid equity index futures
CME Group made the deliberate decision to launch the micro E-mini futures contracts in four of the most liquid and most actively traded equity indices: S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.
As such, retail traders are now able to trade in these popular indices through the Micro e-mini futures contracts, even as the underlying indices continues to run and make E-mini equity index contracts prohibitively expensive for individual retail traders.
Micro E-mini futures complement E-mini futures
The beauty of the new Micro E-mini futures contract, is that it aims to complement the existing E-mini futures contracts. The Micro E-mini futures contracts function and trade just like the E-mini contracts, so traders can continue to use their own favourite trading and risk management strategies, managing positions with greater precision. Both futures contracts types are interchangeable, so with the 10:1 contract ratio, existing traders holding E-mini futures contracts can easily convert them to a Micro E-mini futures position, and vice versa.
The beauty of the new Micro E-mini futures contract, is that it aims to complement the existing E-mini futures contracts. The Micro E-mini futures contracts function and trade just like the E-mini contracts, so traders can continue to use their own favorite trading and risk management strategies, managing positions with greater precision. Both futures contracts types are interchangeable, so with the 10:1 contract ratio, existing traders holding E-mini futures contracts can easily convert them to a Micro E-mini futures position, and vice versa.
Why Trade micro with AMP Global, the King of Micros? See for yourself:
Clear Cheap Pricing + Excellent Customer Service
NEW CME E-Micro Futures - as low as $0.37 Commissions (all fees included)
Day Trade Margins:
Micro E-mini S&P 500 : MES = $40.00
Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100: MNQ = $50.00
Micro E-mini Dow: MYM = $50.00
Micro E-mini Russell 2000: M2K = $25.00
Minimum account just $25.