A Swan song for the venerable FULL Size or BIG S&P 500 Futures contract.
The initial $500.00 per point then subsequently $250.00 per point S&P contract is done, over. Because the contract became unwittingly large as the index value increased, the CME will be delisting the “Big” S&P following this week’s expiration leaving the E-Mini and Micro E-mini contracts as its legacy to thrive.
The price of the index itself became too expensive for smaller investors and lead to the creation of the ES in 1997 and the MES in 2019 as index values soared from 959.90 on September 17th 1997 to 4450.00 as of Friday’s close.
This from the CME:
As announced on May 4, 2021, and subject to regulatory review, CME Group will delist its standard-size futures and options on futures contracts on the Standard and Poor’s 500 Stock Price Index (“standard-size contracts”) following the expiration of the September 2021 contracts on Friday, September 17, 2021. After the delisting of the standard-size contracts, the E-mini suite of futures and options on the S&P 500 Index will continue to meet the trading and risk management needs of customers.