How to Choose the Best Micro E-mini Futures
It's 9:30 AM EST, and your Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) contract just captured a 5-point move before the market reversed. You've just secured $25 profit w...
It's 9:30 AM EST, and your Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) contract just captured a 5-point move before the market reversed. You've just secured $25 profit with minimal risk—something impossible with standard E-mini contracts at your current account size. This is the power of choosing the right micro E-mini futures contract for your day trading strategy. Micro E-mini futures are electronically traded contracts representing exactly 1/10th the size of standard E-mini futures. Micro E-mini S&P 500 futures (MES) trade on the CME Globex platform with a tick value of $1.25 per point, compared to $12.50 for standard E-mini S&P 500 futures (ES). This 10:1 ratio fundamentally changes how smaller accounts can participate in futures markets. Key fact: Micro E-mini futures volume has grown from 2% of E-mini volume in 2019 to approximately 45% of all Equity Index futures volume as of 2026, according to CME Group Monthly Volume Reports. The introduction of micro contracts fundamentally changed how smaller accounts can participate in futures trading. Before their launch, a single point move in the standard E-mini S&P 500 (ES) was valued at $50.