E-mini S&P 500 Futures Futures

You watch it every day. The S&P 500 index is the most widely followed benchmark for US equity markets, if not equities globally. Traders know the top companies in it as well – Apple, , Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, Wells Fargo and so on. The S&P 500 index is the one managers use to benchmark their funds. It’s the benchmark that managers use as the barometer of how well they are doing, not to mention the health of the US economy. Simply put, it is critical to portfolios.
One way traders can access the S&P 500 index to hedge against their holdings, or to look for trading opportunities, is through the E-mini S&P 500 futures or options. The product is far more capital efficient than a corresponding ETF product or even a basket of stocks.
If you understand the broad market, what is pushing and pulling on it on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, then the E-mini S&P provides a manageable sized product that offers traders long and short exposure.