E-mini S&P what does taking deliver mean?

[tdrtw]

I have a couple of very basic questions about the ticket symbol ES (CME E-mini S&P 500). I tried looking under the Futures section of this board but didn't find anything (ended up getting caught up in reading other threads :cheesy: !!). Here is a link to the cme website about it:

CME E-mini S&P 500 Futures and CME E-mini S&P Options


Anyways, if the answer is out there already, please post up the link and my apologies in advance.

Question 1) What does "taking delivery" of it mean? I can understand when buying a Contract of Soy Beans, ultimately if you hold the contract until it expires, you need to settle up the rest of the balance and go get your tuckload of soy beans from a farmer - correct?

So what does it mean to hold a contract of the e-mini? What actually will I be getting when it comes time to settle the contract, and how many of them will I get?

What about if I was Short a Contract come settlement time?

Question 2) When times does trading begin? It appears to be 8.30CT based on my Interactive brokers chart but looking at the CME website, it says a weekday opening of 15.30 or 15 mintues after the close? Which implies 23:45 hours of trading a day?

Thanks,

trdtw

 

[comintel]

It is cash-settled so they just compute the value of the contract at expiration and credit or debit your account accordingly.

Regular trading hours are 8:30 to 15:15 but then after a 15 minute break they reopen it for night trading (liquidity is lower at night and spreads are wider).

I have a couple of very basic questions about the ticket symbol ES (CME E-mini S&P 500). I tried looking under the Futures section of this board but didn't find anything (ended up getting caught up in reading other threads :cheesy: !!). Here is a link to the cme website about it:

CME E-mini S&P 500 Futures and CME E-mini S&P Options


Anyways, if the answer is out there already, please post up the link and my apologies in advance.

Question 1) What does "taking delivery" of it mean? I can understand when buying a Contract of Soy Beans, ultimately if you hold the contract until it expires, you need to settle up the rest of the balance and go get your tuckload of soy beans from a farmer - correct?

So what does it mean to hold a contract of the e-mini? What actually will I be getting when it comes time to settle the contract, and how many of them will I get?

What about if I was Short a Contract come settlement time?

Question 2) When times does trading begin? It appears to be 8.30CT based on my Interactive brokers chart but looking at the CME website, it says a weekday opening of 15.30 or 15 mintues after the close? Which implies 23:45 hours of trading a day?

Thanks,

trdtw

 

[tdrtw]

comitel, thanks for the reply. But I am still at a loss to know exactly what the cash settlement is for.

Let me go back to the Soy bean example. 1 contract = 5,000 bushels (there are 60lbs in a bushel for Soy beans - correct?). So if I am long 1 contract of soy bean, I will be taking deliver of 300,000 lbs of soy bean of a particular delivarable grade. From cbot => (No. 2 Yellow at par, No. 1 yellow at 6 cents per bushel over contract price and No. 3 yellow at 6 cents per bushel under contract price).

I know exactly what I am getting.

How does it work with the E-mini S&P Future Contract. Exactly what am I getting with a single contract?

 

[Rhody Trader]

You get nothing. No delivery of stock, if that's what you're thinking. Cash settlement means on the last day of trading, whatever the profit or loss you've achieved on the position is the final deal. For example, if you were long the mini S&P and made 100 points you would have been credited $5000 in profits along the way. That's yours. It's all over and done with. Nothing more to be done.