Contract Specifications and Overview   Contract Specifications and Overview 1 How are the E-mini contracts similar to their larger counterpart contracts? 2 How are E-mini contracts different from the larger contracts? 3 How do the quarterly E-mini futures settle and when is the last time to trade before expiration? 4 Is there a post-settlement session for futures in the E-minis?   5 Are E-mini futures calendar spreads available on GLOBEX? 6 Are E-mini options spreads available on GLOBEX? 7 Are E-mini FLEX options available? 8 Is a position of five E-mini futures contracts financially equivalent to a position of one regular-sized larger futures contract on the same side of the market in the same contract month? 9 May a customer liquidate E-mini futures positions against offsetting positions in the regular-sized futures contract without making additional trades in the market? 10 What are the position limits for the E-minis? 11 What is the reportable position limit for the E-mini contracts? 12 Under which membership classifications are the E-mini products listed? 13 May GEM members trade the E-mini products from terminals on the CME trading floor during pit-traded hours?   q1 How are the E-mini contracts similar to their larger counterpart contracts? a1 The E-mini and the larger contracts are based on the same underlying index (e.g., S&P 500 ® , S&P MidCap 400 TM , NASDAQ-100 ® and Russell 2000 ® Indexes). The E-mini and the larger contracts are cash-settled to the same index values on quarterly expirations (the Special Opening Quotation). The E-mini S&P 500 and E-mini NASDAQ-100 settle daily to their larger contracts'  counterpart settlement price, while the E-mini Russell 2000 and E-mini S&P MidCap 400 daily settlement prices will be used to settle their larger counterpart contracts.   The E-mini and the larger contracts have the same tick size for calendar spread trades of .05 index points. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   q2 How are E-mini contracts different from the larger contracts? a2 The E-mini contract values are one-fifth the size of the larger contracts. The E-mini tick sizes are different: E-mini S&P 500 tick size is .25, or $12.50 per tick (.05 for calendar spreads = to $2.50 per tick) versus a tick size of .10, or $25 per tick (.05 for calendar spreads = $12.50 per tick) for the big S&P 500 futures contract. E-mini S&P MidCap 400 tick size is .10, or $10 per tick (.05 for calendar spreads = to $5 per tick) versus a tick size of .05, or $25 per tick (.05 for calendar spreads = to $25 per tick) for the big S&P MidCap 400 futures contract. E-mini Russell 2000 tick size is .10, or $10 per tick (.05 for calendar spreads = to $5 per tick) versus a tick size of .05, or $25 per tick (.05 for calendar spreads = to $25 per tick) for the big Russell 2000 futures contract. E-mini NASDAQ-100 has the same tick size of .25 as the big NASDAQ futures. The dollar value of the E-mini NASDAQ-100 tick is $5, while the larger NASDAQ-100 futures is $25. Calendar spread trades for both the E-mini NASDAQ-100 and big NASDAQ-100 futures is .05.  the dollar value of the E-mini NASDAQ-100 calendar spread tick is $1, while the larger NASDAQ-100 futures is $5.  Quarterly E-mini futures can trade up until 8:30 a.m., Chicago time on expiration day. An order for any quantity may be accepted for E-mini outright futures. However, orders exceeding a specified number of contracts as indicated below must be entered on the CME GLOBEX ® system as multiple entries, each of which must not exceed the specified number of contracts.  E-mini S&P 500: 2,000 for outrights & 5,000 for calendar spreads. E-mini NASDAQ-100: 1,500 for outrights & 5,000 for calendar spreads. All other CME stock index futures -- 500 for outrights & 5,000 for calendar spreads.  An order for any quantity may be accepted for E-mini calendar spreads. However, calendar spread orders for E-minis exceeding 5,000 contracts per contract month must be entered on the GLOBEX trading system as multiple entries each of which must not exceed 5,000 contracts. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   How do the quarterly E-mini futures settle and when is the last time to trade before expiration? a3 E-mini quarterly contracts expire at the same time and to the same price as their larger counterpart contracts. For quarterly futures contracts, trading can occur up to 8:30 a.m., Chicago time, on the third Friday of the month. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   Is there a post-settlement session for futures in the E-minis? a4 No. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   Are E-mini futures calendar spreads available on GLOBEX? a5 Calendar spread orders for E-minis of any quantity may be accepted for entry on GLOBEX. However, calendar spread orders exceeding 5,000 contracts per contract month must be entered on GLOBEX as multiple entries, each of which must not exceed 5,000 contracts. Trading in the calendar spread may occur at .05-point intervals for the E-mini S&P 500, E-mini NASDAQ-100, E-mini S&P MidCap 400 and E-mini Russell 2000. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   Are E-mini options spreads available on GLOBEX? a6 Yes. CME Group updated the electronic equity options functionality available on CME Globex to enable trading of standard listed and user-defined spreads (including covereds) for E-mini options. Check with your Globex access provider to see if they offer this functionality on your trading platform of choice. This functionality is also available through CME EOS Trader. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   Are E-mini FLEX ® options available? a7 E-mini FLEX options are not currently available. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   Is a position of five E-mini futures contracts financially equivalent to a position of one regular-sized larger futures contract on the same side of the market in the same contract month? a8 Yes. The daily settlement prices for the E-mini futures contracts are the same as the settlement prices for the corresponding contract months of the regular-sized contracts. Accordingly, a customer who has a long position of five E-mini futures contracts and a short position of one regular-sized futures contract in the same contract month is perfectly hedged. CME will impose no initial margin (performance bond) requirements on such a hedged position. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   May a customer liquidate E-mini futures positions against offsetting positions in the regular-sized futures contract without making additional trades in the market? a9 Yes. With the customer's consent, a clearing member may offset and liquidate E-mini futures positions against offsetting regular-sized futures positions held in the same account in a 5:1 ratio of E-mini to regular-sized futures contracts. The positions shall be offset at the previous day's settlement price. The clearing member shall notify the Clearing House of offsetting positions by submitting reports to the Clearing House through a special online entry screen designed for that purpose. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   What are the position limits for the E-minis? a10 Position limits work in conjunction with the existing position limits for the regular-sized contracts. For example, with the E-mini at one-fifth the size of the S&P 500 futures contract, an entity or an account controller could have 100,000 net E-mini S&P 500 futures equivalents, if no other S&P 500 positions were held open. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   What is the reportable position limit for the E-mini contracts? a11 25 contracts. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   Under which membership classifications are the E-mini products listed? a12 The E-mini products are IOM ® (B3) products. However, GEM ® (B4) members are allowed to trade the E-mini Russell 2000. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview   May GEM members trade the E-mini products from terminals on the CME trading floor during pit-traded hours? a13 GEM members will not be allowed to trade E-mini S&P 500, E-mini NASDAQ-100 and E-mini S&P MidCap 400 from terminals on the CME floor during pit-traded hours. However, GEM members may trade from terminals on the CME floor outside of pit trading hours and may trade from terminals off the floor during any hours. GEM members will be allowed to trade E-mini Russell 2000 futures with member rates from terminals located on the trading floor. However, GEM members will not be allowed to trade E-mini S&P 500, E-mini NASDAQ-100, E-mini S&P MidCap 400 or other products outside of the GEM division from the floor during these markets' pit trading hours. back to top | back to Contract Specifications and Overview