CME · Equity Index · Futures

Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures (MES)

The Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) is one tenth of the E-mini S&P 500: $5 times the index, cash-settled, traded nearly 24 hours a day on CME Globex – the most popular futures contract for retail traders.

Live MES chart on TradingView Affiliate link

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

Tick size / value: 0.25 pts = $1.25
Point value: $5 / pt
Active contract: MESZ26 Dec 2026
Next roll: Dec 10 in 72 days
Globex right now: Checking…

Contract specifications

Exchange: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group)
Underlying: S&P 500 Index
Contract unit: $5 × S&P 500 Index
Minimum tick: 0.25 index points = $1.25 per contract
Point value: $5.00 per index point · 4 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 S&P 500 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: MES

Contract sizes compared
Symbol	Contract	Per pt	Tick value	Size
MES	Micro E-mini S&P 500	$5.00	$1.25	This contract
ES	E-mini S&P 500	$50.00	$12.50	10× MES

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

Roll dates, first notice & expiration

Contract	Roll date	First notice	Last trading day	Days left
MESZ26 Dec 2026 Active	Thu, Dec 10, 2026	n/a	Fri, Dec 18, 2026	80
MESH27 Mar 2027	Thu, Mar 11, 2027	n/a	Fri, Mar 19, 2027	171
MESM27 Jun 2027	Thu, Jun 10, 2027	n/a	Thu, Jun 17, 2027 holiday-adjusted	261
MESU27 Sep 2027	Thu, Sep 9, 2027	n/a	Fri, Sep 17, 2027	353
MESZ27 Dec 2027	Thu, Dec 9, 2027	n/a	Fri, Dec 17, 2027	444
MESH28 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 – ES 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.

Trading hours (ET / CT)

Session	Eastern (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 break	Mon–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 settlement	4:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.	–
Last trading day close	9:30 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).

Margins

CME Group maintenance margin per contract, outright position · as of Sep 30, 2026
Contract	Long position	Short position
MESZ26 Dec 2026 Active	$2,612	$2,333
MESH27 Mar 2027	$2,631	$2,349
MESM27 Jun 2027	$2,649	$2,363
MESU27 Sep 2027	$2,666	$2,384

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

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 S&P 500 (ES) contract. The CFTC reports MES separately, but its positions are too small to read on their own. Full ES page.

Dealers / Intermediaries

−634,203 net contracts

+68,735 vs. prior week · −33.5% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 93

COT Index 3 yr 55

Movement (6 wk): +23

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

Asset Managers

+934,455 net contracts

+29,771 vs. prior week · +49.4% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 20

COT Index 3 yr 66

Movement (6 wk): −3

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

Leveraged Funds

−375,574 net contracts

−82,431 vs. prior week · −19.9% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 50

COT Index 3 yr 43

Movement (6 wk): −29

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 1,890,653 (−555,866 w/w)
Group	Long	Short	Net	Δ 1 wk	Δ 4 wk	Index 26 wk	Index 3 yr	Move 6 wk
Dealers / Intermediaries	168,132	802,335	−634,203	+68,735	+126,833	93	55	+23
Asset Managers	1,118,655	184,200	+934,455	+29,771	−18,773	20	66	−3
Leveraged Funds	120,133	495,707	−375,574	−82,431	−60,370	50	43	−29
Other Reportables	49,621	78,647	−29,026	−29,153	−19,979	0	22	−6
Nonreportables	250,187	145,839	+104,348	+13,078	−27,711	58	62	−20

Legacy Report · open interest 1,890,653 (−555,866 w/w) · WILLCO (26 wk, commercials vs. OI): 70
Group	Long	Short	Net	Δ 1 wk	Δ 4 wk	Index 26 wk	Index 3 yr	Move 6 wk
Commercials	1,388,362	1,359,482	+28,880	+19,689	+92,945	68	66	+43
Non-Commercials	218,043	351,271	−133,228	−32,767	−65,234	38	30	−41
Nonreportables (small)	250,187	145,839	+104,348	+13,078	−27,711	58	62	−20

Weekly net positions, last 12 reports (Traders in Financial Futures (TFF))

Report date	Dealers / Intermediaries	Asset Managers	Leveraged Funds	Other Reportables	Nonreportables	Open interest
Sep 22, 2026	−634,203	+934,455	−375,574	−29,026	+104,348	1,890,653
Sep 15, 2026	−702,938	+904,684	−293,143	+127	+91,270	2,446,519
Sep 8, 2026	−685,342	+912,361	−341,104	−11,968	+126,053	2,071,836
Sep 1, 2026	−720,747	+934,180	−317,564	−5,923	+110,054	2,046,914
Aug 25, 2026	−761,036	+953,228	−315,204	−9,047	+132,059	2,045,669
Aug 18, 2026	−784,415	+960,566	−281,402	−18,862	+124,113	2,072,358
Aug 11, 2026	−779,632	+948,481	−280,446	−19,563	+131,160	2,119,506
Aug 4, 2026	−716,826	+937,033	−329,999	−1,842	+111,634	2,116,079
Jul 28, 2026	−757,194	+944,770	−297,476	−3,225	+113,125	1,984,408
Jul 21, 2026	−732,865	+929,159	−322,865	+2,868	+123,703	1,939,493
Jul 14, 2026	−706,777	+940,472	−365,002	−162	+131,469	1,941,500
Jul 7, 2026	−731,085	+970,592	−361,875	+13,014	+109,354	1,969,636

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 13874A (E-MINI S&P 500 - CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE)

MES profit & loss calculator

Learn more: Tick value and point value explained

Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.25.

FAQ

What is the tick value of MES?

One tick is 0.25 index points, worth $1.25 per contract. A full index point is worth $5. Ten MES contracts equal one ES contract.

Do MES and ES expire on the same day?

Yes. Both expire on the third Friday of March, June, September and December and roll on the same date.