futuresspecs

CME · Equity Index · Futures

Micro E-mini Russell 2000 Futures (M2K)

The Micro E-mini Russell 2000 (M2K) is one tenth of the E-mini Russell 2000: $5 times the index, cash-settled, traded nearly 24 hours a day.

COT data as of Sep 22, 2026 · Margins as of Sep 30, 2026 · Roll & expiry dates checked daily

Tick size / value
0.10 pts = $0.50
Point value
$5 / pt
Active contract
M2KZ26 Dec 2026
Next roll
Dec 10 in 72 days
Globex right now
Checking…
01

Contract specifications

Exchange
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group)
Underlying
Russell 2000 Index
Contract unit
$5 × Russell 2000 Index
Minimum tick
0.10 index points = $0.50 per contract
Point value
$5.00 per index point · 10 ticks per pt
Price quotation
U.S. dollars and cents per index point
Contract months
Quarterly: March (H), June (M), September (U), December (Z)
Settlement
Financially settled (cash)
Final settlement
Special Opening Quotation (SOQ) of the Russell 2000 on the third Friday of the contract month
Termination of trading
9:30 a.m. ET on the third Friday of the contract month
Globex code
M2K
Contract sizes compared
SymbolContractPer ptTick valueSize
M2KMicro E-mini Russell 2000$5.00$0.50This contract
RTYE-mini Russell 2000$50.00$5.0010× M2K

Source: CME Group contract specifications · reviewed Sep 30, 2026

02

Roll dates, first notice & expiration

ContractRoll dateFirst noticeLast trading dayDays left
M2KZ26 Dec 2026 Active Thu, Dec 10, 2026 n/a Fri, Dec 18, 2026 80
M2KH27 Mar 2027 Thu, Mar 11, 2027 n/a Fri, Mar 19, 2027 171
M2KM27 Jun 2027 Thu, Jun 10, 2027 n/a Thu, Jun 17, 2027 holiday-adjusted 261
M2KU27 Sep 2027 Thu, Sep 9, 2027 n/a Fri, Sep 17, 2027 353
M2KZ27 Dec 2027 Thu, Dec 9, 2027 n/a Fri, Dec 17, 2027 444
M2KH28 Mar 2028 Thu, Mar 9, 2028 n/a Fri, Mar 17, 2028 535

Roll. The industry roll date is eight calendar days before expiration (the Thursday of the prior week). Volume and open interest shift to the next quarter around this date.

First notice day. None – RTY is cash-settled, so there is no delivery process and no first notice day. Longs can hold into expiration.

Last trading day. Third Friday of the contract month. If the exchange is closed that day, trading ends on the preceding business day.

US exchange holidays ahead: Nov 26 · Dec 25 · Jan 1 · Jan 18 · Feb 15 · Mar 26 · May 31 · Jun 18

Learn more: Futures roll dates explained · First notice day vs. last trading day

Calculated from exchange rules and the US exchange holiday calendar. Confirm with the CME Group expiration calendar.

03

Trading hours (ET / CT)

SessionEastern (ET)Central (CT)Your time
CME Globex (electronic)Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.Sun–Fri 5:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. –
Daily maintenance breakMon–Thu 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.Mon–Thu 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. –
US cash session (RTH, reference)Mon–Fri 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. –
Daily settlement4:00 p.m.3:00 p.m. –
Last trading day close9:30 a.m. (third Friday)8:30 a.m. (third Friday) –

Holiday hours differ – check the CME holiday calendar before trading around US holidays. ET is New York time, CT is Chicago time (always one hour behind ET).

04

Margins

CME Group maintenance margin per contract, outright position · as of Sep 30, 2026
ContractLong positionShort position
M2KZ26 Dec 2026 Active $1,093$1,029
M2KH27 Mar 2027 $1,103$1,037
M2KM27 Jun 2027 $1,073$1,052
M2KU27 Sep 2027 $1,100$1,062

Exchange margins are the minimum your clearing firm must collect for positions held overnight. Brokers may require more – and usually offer much lower day-trading margins for positions closed before the session ends. A neutral broker day-margin comparison is coming soon.

Learn more: Futures margin explained · Micro vs. E-mini futures

05

COT positioning

CFTC Traders in Financial Futures (TFF), futures only · positions as of Tue, Sep 22, 2026 · released Sep 25, 2026

Positioning shown for the full-size E-mini Russell 2000 (RTY) contract. The CFTC reports M2K separately, but its positions are too small to read on their own. Full RTY page.

Dealers / Intermediaries

+75,744 net contracts

−4,858 vs. prior week · +18.2% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 71
COT Index 3 yr 91

Movement (6 wk): −6

Banks and dealers on the other side of client flow. Tend to act contrarian – selling strength, buying weakness.

Asset Managers

+33,028 net contracts

+8,755 vs. prior week · +8.0% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 100
COT Index 3 yr 27

Movement (6 wk): +12

Pension funds, insurers, mutual funds. Structurally long; read changes against their own range, not the sign.

Leveraged Funds

−107,982 net contracts

−10,779 vs. prior week · −26.0% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 3
COT Index 3 yr 7

Movement (6 wk): −9

Hedge funds and CTAs. Trend followers – their net position tends to run with price and peaks near turning points.

Net positions, last 3 years contracts, long minus short
Dealers / IntermediariesAsset ManagersLeveraged Funds
COT Index, 3-year window 0 = most net short in 3 years, 100 = most net long · shaded: extreme zones
Dealers / IntermediariesLeveraged Funds
Traders in Financial Futures (TFF) · open interest 415,047 (−81,715 w/w)
GroupLongShortNet Δ 1 wkΔ 4 wkIndex 26 wkIndex 3 yrMove 6 wk
Dealers / Intermediaries 113,94838,204+75,744 −4,858−8,164 7191−6
Asset Managers 151,857118,829+33,028 +8,755+20,697 10027+12
Leveraged Funds 75,471183,453−107,982 −10,779−10,282 37−9
Other Reportables 4,04612,229−8,183 +3,156−979 3249+9
Nonreportables 27,97720,584+7,393 +3,726−1,272 5739−2
Legacy Report · open interest 415,047 (−81,715 w/w) · WILLCO (26 wk, commercials vs. OI): 92
GroupLongShortNet Δ 1 wkΔ 4 wkIndex 26 wkIndex 3 yrMove 6 wk
Commercials 295,049226,659+68,390 −293+25,477 8983+26
Non-Commercials 82,065157,848−75,783 −3,433−24,205 916−28
Nonreportables (small) 27,97720,584+7,393 +3,726−1,272 5739−2
Weekly net positions, last 12 reports (Traders in Financial Futures (TFF))
Report dateDealers / IntermediariesAsset ManagersLeveraged FundsOther ReportablesNonreportablesOpen interest
Sep 22, 2026+75,744+33,028−107,982−8,183+7,393415,047
Sep 15, 2026+80,602+24,273−97,203−11,339+3,667496,762
Sep 8, 2026+89,619+23,564−110,147−8,741+5,705431,147
Sep 1, 2026+96,593+17,498−109,499−8,154+3,562424,663
Aug 25, 2026+83,908+12,331−97,700−7,204+8,665413,000
Aug 18, 2026+86,131+14,354−99,786−8,007+7,308424,956
Aug 11, 2026+90,694+10,130−95,158−13,540+7,874419,222
Aug 4, 2026+79,913+6,198−85,145−11,384+10,418417,259
Jul 28, 2026+74,514+952−74,620−7,694+6,848417,083
Jul 21, 2026+72,106−890−73,468−7,425+9,677411,524
Jul 14, 2026+75,880+7,554−88,112−6,921+11,599405,743
Jul 7, 2026+70,096−366−72,262−7,063+9,595406,632

Learn more: How to read the COT report · COT overview of all contracts

How to read these numbers
  • Net position = long minus short contracts (spread positions excluded).
  • COT Index = where today's net position sits within its range over the window: 100 × (net − min) / (max − min). It is a stochastic, not a percentile. Readings above 80 or below 20 are commonly treated as positioning extremes (after Stephen Briese and Larry Williams).
  • Movement Index = change of the 3-year COT Index over 6 weeks. Moves of ±40 points mark unusually fast repositioning.
  • WILLCO (Legacy report) = COT Index of commercials' net position as a share of open interest, 26-week window.
  • Positions are as of Tuesday and released Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET. COT data shows positioning, not timing – it is context, not a trading signal. Open-interest-based indicators are left out for stock index futures because quarterly expirations distort open interest.

Source: CFTC Public Reporting Environment · contract market code 239742 (RUSSELL E-MINI - CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE)

06

M2K profit & loss calculator

Price change– Ticks– Profit / loss–

Learn more: Tick value and point value explained

Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.10.

07

FAQ

What is the tick value of M2K?

One tick is 0.10 index points, worth $0.50 per contract. A full index point is worth $5. Ten M2K contracts equal one RTY contract.