Emini S&P (ES)

While day trading futures, the Emini S&P Futures trades on the CME until 4:15 p.m., then the Emini S&P Futures reopens 15 minutes later at 4:30 p.m. to start the next session. There is also a shutdown period from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Emini S&P Futures contract months are March (H), June (M), September (U) and December (Z). The Emini S&P Futures moves in increments of 0.25 points, which equals $12.50 per contract or $50 for a full 1 point move. A 3 point move in the Emini S&P Futures using 1 contract would equal $150. A trader needs around $2,000 in their account to be able to trade 1 ES contract. Although this contract trades nearly 24 hours, I usually only focus on it during the regular cash market session from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Quotes on TradeStation for 2005 Emini S&P contracts: ESH05, ESM05, ESU05, ESZ05. @ES is the continuous symbol. Quotes on eSignal for 2005 Emini S&P contracts: ES H5, ES M5, ES U5, ES Z5. ES #F is the continuous symbol.