MES (Micro E-Mini S&P 500)
MES is the Micro E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract, sized at one-tenth of the standard ES. With a tick value of $1.25 and low margin requirements, it is the most accessible way to trade S&P 500 futures.
MES (ticker: /MES) is the Micro E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract, listed on the CME Group’s Globex platform. It was launched in May 2019 and tracks the S&P 500 index at 1/10th the size of the standard ES contract.
Contract specifications
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Underlying | S&P 500 Index |
| Multiplier | $5 per point |
| Tick size | 0.25 points |
| Tick value | $1.25 |
| Point value | $5.00 |
| Trading hours | Sun–Fri, 6:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET (23h) |
| Expiry | Quarterly (Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec) |
MES vs ES
MES and ES are economically identical per unit of underlying. The difference is purely size:
| MES | ES | |
|---|---|---|
| Tick value | $1.25 | $12.50 |
| Point value | $5.00 | $50.00 |
| 10 contracts of MES | = | 1 contract of ES |
Margin
Margin requirements vary by broker and change with volatility. As a reference point, typical intraday margin for MES runs around $40–$100 per contract through most prop firm programs, vs $400–$1,000+ for ES. Overnight margin follows CME SPAN requirements, typically $1,000–$1,500 for MES.
Who trades MES
MES is used by:
- Traders scaling up from paper trading to real-money
- Smaller accounts (<$10k) building toward ES size
- Experienced traders who want fractional ES exposure for precise sizing
- Prop firm evaluation traders managing drawdown limits carefully
Price behavior
MES charts are identical to ES charts: same levels, same patterns, same order flow characteristics. Any analysis done on ES applies directly to MES.