Starting this summer*, gain exposure to leading U.S. stocks, all with the power of futures. Financially settled Single Stock futures offer precise, capital-efficient exposure to over 50 top stocks in benchmark U.S. indices, such as the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Russell 1000. Get ready to trade major names like TSLA, NVDA, GOOGL and META. Sign up to be one of the first to receive updates on contract specifications, stock names and more.

*Pending completion of all regulatory reviews and processes

Geopolitical instability and heightened risk-off sentiments marked the first quarter of 2026, with the S&P 500 ending the quarter down 4.3%. The year started out optimistically with the S&P 500 touching the historic milestone of 7000 in January. However, as the war in the Middle East dragged on, the closure of Strait of Hormuz and oil prices hitting $100 per barrel, investors rushed to hedge against the fallout from geopolitical tensions.

Our Equity complex reported a record quarterly average daily volume (ADV) of 8.7M contracts, an 8% increase year over year. At the same time, the tech sector and the mega-cap “Magnificent Seven” faced heavy sell-off stemming from earnings concerns and AI-related expenditures. As a result, the first quarter also marked a significant rotation away from growth sectors into defensive, “old economy” sectors as well as small caps. Investors increasingly utilized Equity futures and options to aggressively reposition and rotate across sectors and size.

Equity options trading activity during non-U.S. hours (5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. CT) has reached record levels as market participants increasingly manage risk in real time. Driven by global geopolitical shifts, traders are utilizing overnight liquidity to respond to market-moving events.

Year-to-date (YTD) options ADV reached 1.5M contracts, +8% vs 2025, with non-U.S. session activity driving notable growth, reaching a record 277K contracts, +18% vs FY 2025.

Key highlights 

• Overnight trading growth: Q1 Equity Index options non-U.S. hours ADV reached a record 277K contracts, +18% vs. 2025. E-mini S&P 500 options ADV led the charge with 244K contracts traded outside U.S. hours (+20% vs. 2025).
• Nasdaq-100 momentum: E-mini Nasdaq-100 options continue to see strong adoption as investors manage tech sector concentration. Q1 ADV reached a record 89K contracts, with overnight ADV reaching 19K contracts (+10% vs. 2025).
• Block trading adoption: E-mini options block ADV reached a record 145K contracts in 2026, +23% vs 2025, with non-U.S. ADV hitting a record 15K contracts, up 32% vs. 2025. Overnight institutional participation continues to increase.

In a persistent high interest rate environment, Adjusted Interest Rate (AIR) Total Return futures continue to be the primary tool for managing equity financing exposure in 2026, available across the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and the Dow. 

Record momentum

• Record volume: AIR TRF reached a record 31K contracts (+15% vs. 2025)
• Record open interest (OI): Surged at a record 970K contracts (+8% vs. 2025)

Recent product enhancement: Block trading for AIR Total Return futures is becoming more accessible. Minimum block trade quantities have been reduced by 50% to 125 contracts for four core products.

• S&P 500 AIR TRF (EFFR-based)
• S&P 500 AIR TRF (SOFR-based)
• Nasdaq-100 AIR TRF (EFFR-based)
• Dow Jones Industrial Average AIR TRF (EFFR-based)

Recently honored as the most innovative contract of the year at the FOW International awards, Spot-Quoted futures offer a new way to access the futures market. Traded at the spot price, these smaller sizer contracts allow active traders to gain exposure to eight major U.S. equity benchmarks and cryptocurrencies for a fraction of the financial commitment of traditional futures contracts. Spot-Quoted futures ADV climbed to 122K contracts in Q1 2026, +22% vs. prior quarter.

Institutional participants are increasingly turning to S&P 500 Month-End futures and options (SME) for a capital efficient solution to manage S&P 500 exposure during month-end and quarter-end rebalancing. The growing momentum is underscored by a major trade of 295K contracts on March 31, with OI exceeding 129K contracts in S&P 500 Month-End options.

Key features

• Flexible execution: Access deep liquidity and scale through trading via (Basis Trade at Index Close), EFRP (Exchange for Related Position) transactions or delta-hedged to options. 
• Sized for scale: Trade with greater operational efficiency for larger portfolios thanks to the $100 contract multiplier (double the E-mini S&P 500 contract size).

Source: CME Group

The Japanese equity market saw increased volatility in Q1 with political shifts from the election and the impacts of macro events globally. Market participants continued to embrace the liquid Nikkei 225 futures market to access new opportunities and manage exposure as headlines shift.

Trading highlights

• Around-the-clock trading: 70% of Nikkei 225 futures volume occurred outside of Tokyo trading hours.
• Strong growth: Combined JPY and USD Nikkei volume ADV reached 37K contracts, +25% vs. 2025.
• Micro Nikkei volume: Q1 ADV reached a record 4.9K contracts, +16% vs. 2025.

As the "Magnificent Seven" stocks lose momentum, the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index has moved to the forefront. Participants increasingly utilized E-mini S&P 500 Equal Weight futures to gain capital-efficient, equal exposure to every name in the S&P 500 Index, unaffected by market capitalization.

This demand has driven record adoption:

• Record volume: ADV reached a record 2.3K contracts, +155% compared to 2025, with a single-day volume record of 22,771 contracts achieved on March 16.
• Record OI: OI peaked at 28K contracts in March, signaling that participants are prepared for a long-term rotation.

As equity market stress persists, the demand to manage dividend exposure via listed dividend futures and options accelerates. Dividend futures and options have evolved from a niche instrument to a core hedging tool, underscored by notable volume growth as participants turn to the liquidity of our Dividend suite to hedge long dividend risk.

• Record Q1 ADV: 12K contracts with OI exceeding 785K contracts (+59% vs. 2025).

Amid high volatility from mega-cap concentration, institutional investors are leaning into Sector futures to fine-tune exposure and capitalize on sector rotation opportunities. Sector futures ADV hit a record 30K contracts in Q1 (up 17% vs 2025), as participants turned to our Sectors suite for portfolio tailoring and relative value trades for hedging and alpha generation.

• OI: Reached a record of 340K (+9% vs. 2025).

Q1 2026 volume and OI

• Record ADV of 8.7M contracts, +8% vs Q1-2025 
• Average daily open interest of 10.9M contracts, +1% vs Q1-2025 

Equity Index futures

• Volume: 7.2M contracts per day (+11% vs. Q1-2025) 
• OI: 5.2M contracts per day (+4% vs Q1-2025)

Equity Index options on futures

• Volume: 1.5M contracts per day 
• OI: 5.7M contracts per day

Data as of March 31, 2026, unless otherwise specified

The opinions and statements contained in the commentary on this page do not constitute an offer or a solicitation, or a recommendation to implement or liquidate an investment or to carry out any other transaction. It should not be used as a basis for any investment decision or other decision. Any investment decision should be based on appropriate professional advice specific to your needs. This content has been produced by [Data Resource Technology]. CME Group has not had any input into the content and neither CME Group nor its affiliates shall be responsible or liable for the same.

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