Plus500 America has expanded its US futures offering with the addition of CME Group’s new E-nano Equity Index futures, giving retail traders a way to take much smaller positions on major US stock market indices.
The nano futures contracts provide exposure to the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. Plus500 says the smaller contracts allow customers to trade with lower margin requirements, use more precise position sizing and have tighter control over their overall market exposure.
CME Group launched its E-nano contracts on 24 August 2026, adding another size below its established E-mini and Micro E-mini futures.
What are nano futures?
Nano futures work in essentially the same way as conventional futures: they are exchange-traded contracts whose value moves in relation to an underlying market.
The important difference is the size of the contract.
CME’s E-nano equity futures are one-tenth the size of its Micro E-mini contracts and one-hundredth the size of the corresponding E-mini contracts. For example, an E-mini S&P 500 future has a multiplier of $50 for every index point, while the Micro E-mini is $5 and the new E-nano is just $0.50.
This dramatically reduces the amount of market exposure represented by a single contract. If the S&P 500 were trading at 7,000, for example, an E-mini contract would represent $350,000 of notional exposure and a Micro E-mini $35,000. An E-nano would represent just $3,500.
CME E-nano equity futures specifications
CME currently offers four E-nano equity index contracts:
| Contract | Code | Contract multiplier | Minimum tick | Tick value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | NES | $0.50 × index | 0.5 points | $0.25 |
| Nasdaq-100 | NNQ | $0.20 × index | 0.5 points | $0.10 |
| Russell 2000 | N2K | $0.50 × index | 0.2 points | $0.10 |
| Dow Jones | NDOW | $0.05 × index | 2 points | $0.10 |
The S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Russell 2000 contracts are listed on CME, while the Dow contract is listed on CBOT. They trade on CME Globex from Sunday evening through Friday, with a daily maintenance break, providing around 23-hour-a-day access.
What about nano gold and silver futures?
Smaller futures contracts are also available for precious metals through CME Group’s COMEX market.
The 1-Ounce Gold future (1OZ) represents one troy ounce of gold. That makes it one-tenth the size of Micro Gold and one-hundredth the size of the standard 100-ounce Gold future. It is cash settled and has a minimum price movement of $0.25 per ounce, equivalent to $0.25 per contract. CME has also expanded the product to 24/7 trading, subject to short maintenance periods.
CME’s 100-Ounce Silver future (SIC) represents 100 troy ounces of silver and is cash settled against the benchmark 5,000-ounce Silver futures contract. Its minimum tick value is $0.25 per contract.
Who are nano futures suitable for?
The main attraction of nano futures is that they make futures trading more practical for traders with smaller accounts.
Rather than being forced to take a relatively large position through an E-mini or even a Micro E-mini contract, traders can build positions in much smaller increments. This can make it easier to control risk, scale into and out of trades and allocate capital across several markets.
They may therefore appeal particularly to active retail traders who want direct exchange-traded exposure to indices or commodities but find traditional futures contracts too large.
However, smaller contract sizes do not remove the risks associated with futures. Futures are leveraged products, meaning traders put down only a proportion of the contract’s overall value as margin. This magnifies both gains and losses, and Plus500 warns that futures trading carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor.
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