E-Micro
E-Micro futures are contracts sized at one-tenth of their E-Mini equivalent, introduced by CME Group in 2019. They are the smallest standardized futures contracts available on major equity indices.
E-Micro (also written “Micro E-Mini”) futures were launched by the CME Group in May 2019. They are sized at exactly 1/10th of the corresponding E-Mini contract and track the same underlying index with identical price behavior.
E-Micro contract specs
| E-Micro | Underlying | Tick Value | = E-Mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| MES | S&P 500 | $1.25/tick | 1/10 ES |
| MNQ | Nasdaq 100 | $0.50/tick | 1/10 NQ |
| MYM | Dow Jones 30 | $0.50/tick | 1/10 YM |
| M2K | Russell 2000 | $0.50/tick | 1/10 RTY |
E-Micro vs E-Mini
The contracts are economically identical per unit of underlying: only the contract size differs. Ten MES contracts equal one ES contract in terms of exposure, margin, and P&L.
Traders use E-Micros when:
- Their account is too small for comfortable E-Mini position sizing
- They want fractional contract sizes (e.g. 3 MES instead of rounding to 1 ES)
- They are learning or testing a new strategy before scaling to standard size
Liquidity
E-Micro contracts have grown to be among the highest-volume contracts on the CME. MES in particular trades hundreds of thousands of contracts per day, ensuring tight spreads and reliable execution across most sessions.