Trading the Equity Index Markets

For many traders, there’s one essential part of their portfolios – equities. How an individual invests in the equity asset class is the real question. CME Group’s equity index futures and options contracts offer exposure to this market in a single transaction.

Whether you want to go long or short the S&P 500, NASDAQ-100 or Dow, you can do that with futures. If you wanted exposure to a specific segment of the market, such as mid-cap companies, there are futures on the S&P MidCap 400. Or if you wanted access to an international equity market, there are both dollar- and yen-based futures on Japan’s benchmark index, the Nikkei 225.

These contracts trade virtually 24-hours per day. Going short is simple – you just sell the future – no stock lending or other hassles in some of the deepest and liquid markets in the futures world.

And for those traders who understand markets and the triggers that move them, these contracts wield tremendous flexibility to hedge a portfolio against political or economic risks, as well as present opportunities to capitalize on volatility or market shifts. These products allow traders to take a position in very direct ways in global equity markets.