An electronically traded futures contract one fifth the size of standard S&P futures, E-mini S&P 500 futures and options are based on the underlying Standard & Poor's 500 stock index. Made up of 500 individual stocks representing the market capitalization of large companies, the S&P 500 Index is a leading indicator of large-cap U.S. equities.

Contributing factors:

1.     Economic growth

2.     Inflation

3.     Political Factors

4.     FED government fiscal measures (such as U.S.  tax cuts)

5.     Operating status of each listed company

6.     Exchange rate changes

7.     International financial trends

Advantages:

1.     Deep liquidity & tight bid-ask spreads can reduce your costs

2.     Nearly 24-hour access helps you act as events unfold

3.     Flexible execution gives you multiple ways to find liquidity

4.     Use leverage to trade a large contract value with a small amount

5.     Save on margin offsets with other equity index futures

6.     Trade a global equity index portfolio from one marketplace

7.     Central clearing helps mitigate your counterparty risk

8.     Get 60/40 blended U.S. tax treatment on capital gains