International derivatives marketplace CME Group today announced that as of November 29, more than 3 billion Micro E-mini Equity Index futures traded across all four indices.
“With over three billion of these contracts traded in less than five years, our Micro E-mini Equity Index futures continue to establish themselves among the most actively traded and deeply liquid index products,” said Tim McCourt, Global Head of Equities, FX and Alternative Products at CME Group. “As investors continue to navigate ongoing market uncertainty, index choice is as important as ever. Our breadth of products across every major U.S. index allow clients of all sizes to more nimbly scale index exposure up or down.”
“Nasdaq and CME Group have been providing investors with access to the Nasdaq-100 Index® through innovative products for more than 25 years, including the Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 Index, which offer investors greater flexibility as they manage their portfolios,” said Emily Spurling, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Index at Nasdaq. “We extend our congratulations to CME Group on achieving this milestone and look forward to our continued collaboration to deliver products that give investors more exposure to our Nasdaq-100 Index® ecosystem, which has included the most groundbreaking and innovative companies in the modern economy for nearly 40 years.”
“S&P Dow Jones Indices congratulates CME Group for reaching another significant market milestone,” said Tim Brennan, Global Head of Capital Markets at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “This latest milestone reinforces the ongoing strength of both the S&P 500 Index, widely regarded as the best single gauge of the U.S. equity market, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the world’s most watched and widely cited benchmarks.”
“FTSE Russell congratulates CME Group on reaching this significant milestone of three billion contracts traded across its Micro E-mini derivatives complex,” said Shawn Creighton, Director of Index Derivatives Solutions for FTSE Russell. “As our valued, long-term partner, we are proud to have supported CME Group in such an achievement and look forward to continuing our collaborative work on growing the Russell 2000 product suite. Since its introduction in 1984, the Russell 2000 Index has been widely viewed as the leading benchmark for small cap performance, serving as the basis of investable products. The Micro E-Mini Russell 2000 futures provide investors access to a highly liquid and efficient U.S. small cap equity risk management tool.”
Micro E-mini Equity Index futures became available for trading on the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100®, Russell 2000 and Dow Jones Industrial Average in May of 2019, becoming one of the most successful new product launches in CME Group’s nearly 180-year history. In addition, Micro E-mini S&P MidCap 400 and Micro E-mini SmallCap 600 futures joined the Micro E-mini futures suite in March 2023.
Due to ongoing client demand, and the strong support of index partners, brokers and the intermediary community, these contracts have continued to grow. Additional highlights include:
- 2.5 million contracts in average daily volume in 2024-to-date;
- 19% of volume outside of U.S. trading hours;
- More than 700 firms and 620,000 unique accounts have traded these contracts in the last year.
