CME to list futures on S&P SmallCap 600

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will start to trade futures contracts on rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) SmallCap 600 stock index from November 11.

The S&P SmallCap 600 consists of 600 US stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, viability and industry group representation. The index is market-value weighted - stock price times the number of shares outstanding - with each stock's weight in the index proportionate to its market value.CME S&P SmallCap 600 futures will be sized at $200 times the index price - about $37,000 at recent index levels - and the minimum price fluctuation will be 0.05 index points, equivalent to $10 per contract, the CME said. Trading will occur on CME’s Globex electronic trading platform.

"S&P SmallCap 600 futures will offer a myriad of investment opportunities, allowing investors to increase their small-cap exposure, initiate hedges or spread small-cap issues against mid-caps or large caps to profit from relative price valuation," said CME president and chief executive Jim McNulty. "Customers of the CME can trade these strategies utilising the S&P 500 and S&P MidCap 400 along with these new S&P SmallCap 600 futures."

Last week, the CME confirmed it plans to proceed with its initial public offering, despite continued weakness in the US stock market.