CME single stock futures launch for SpaceX, Micron and 53 other names
CME launched cash-settled futures on 55 U.S. stocks, giving investors a new way to trade single-name exposure almost around the clock.
By Maya Okafor · Markets Writer
· 3 min read
CME single stock futures are now live, giving investors a new way to trade names including SpaceX, Micron Technology, Nvidia, Tesla and Apple outside standard stock-market hours. For retail investors, the launch matters because it brings a futures-style tool to individual stocks, with leverage, long or short exposure and trading access across most of the week.
CME Group said Monday it launched cash-settled single-stock futures on 55 U.S. equities. The exchange also introduced smaller “micro” versions on 22 of those names.
The contracts trade on CME’s Globex platform from Sunday evening until Friday afternoon, according to CME, with a one-hour maintenance pause each day. That schedule means traders can react to earnings reports and other company news that land before the opening bell or after the closing bell.
The standard contracts represent 100 shares of the linked stock, while micro contracts represent 10 shares, CME said. The products are cash settled, meaning traders receive or pay the difference in cash at settlement instead of receiving stock. CME said final settlement is based on the official closing price of the underlying stock at expiration.
How do CME single stock futures work?
A single-stock future is a contract whose value tracks one company’s share price. If the stock rises, a long futures position gains value; if the stock falls, a short futures position gains value, before fees, margin effects and other trading costs.
CME said these contracts do not give investors ownership of the underlying companies. That means holding a futures contract tied to Apple or Tesla is different from owning Apple or Tesla shares directly.
The products also use margin, which means traders put up only a portion of the contract’s full notional value. Margin can make capital use more efficient, but it also magnifies gains and losses because the exposure is larger than the cash posted upfront.
CME framed the launch as a more direct alternative to options for expressing a bullish or bearish view on a single stock. The exchange said the futures do not involve time decay or changes in implied volatility, two key features that affect options pricing. Time decay refers to the way an option can lose value as its expiration date approaches, while implied volatility is the market’s estimate of how much the underlying stock may move.
Why CME is launching these contracts now
Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Cyprys said in a note that retail brokers described the rollout as “the year’s largest retail growth catalyst,” adding that more than 35 retail partners were aiming to be ready on the first day or during the first week.
CME said it may add more stocks beyond the initial 55 depending on customer demand and its listing rules.
The launch arrives as traditional exchanges face new competition from perpetual futures offered on overseas venues. Perpetual futures, often called perps, are futures contracts with no expiration date. CNBC reported that products tied to equities on international platforms drew attention before SpaceX’s official debut, including perpetual futures offered by Hyperliquid.
In the U.S., the Commodity Futures Trading Commission this year allowed Kalshi and Coinbase to offer cryptocurrency-related perpetual futures, according to CNBC. That decision was viewed as a possible signal that regulators could later allow broader use of similar products tied to equities, though most overseas equity perpetual futures are not currently legal in the U.S.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
