CME Group Launches Options on Micro E-Mini Futures Product

The new options will be available for trading in the fall of 2020, pending regulatory review

Derivatives giant CME Group, announced today it will launch options on its Micro E-mini S&P 500 and Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures contracts. The new options will be available for trading in the fall of 2020, pending regulatory review.

“Today, our E-mini S&P 500 and E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures and options are among the most actively traded equity index products in the world,” Tim McCourt, CME Group Global Head of Equity Index and Alternative Investment Products, said in a statement.

“Offering Micro-sized options on futures on these two indices will provide our clients with even greater versatility to execute equity trading strategies, scale index exposure up or down or more precisely hedge existing equity portfolio positions,” he added.

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CME said that successful options contracts require a robust, liquid underlying futures market. Since launching one year ago, Micro E-mini Equity futures have rapidly developed round-the-clock liquidity and become the most successful new product in CME Group’s history.

Some highlights include:

• 243 million cumulative contracts traded across all four indices – S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and Dow Jones Industrial Average – including 120 million Micro E-mini S&P 500 and 87 million Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures contracts,
• 913,000 contracts traded across all four products on average each day,
• 27% of trading volume originated outside of the U.S., and
• 155,000+ unique accounts have traded these contracts.

Options on the Micro E-mini S&P 500 and Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures will be 1/10^th the size of their E-mini options counterparts, according to CME. The listing cycle for the new options will consist of five Friday weekly options, three end-of-month options and two quarterly options contracts.

Micro E-mini Equity options will be listed by and subject to the rules of CME.