YM futures explained: how the E-mini Dow contract moves
YM follows the Dow Jones Industrial Average: just 30 big US companies. The twist is how the index is built, and it changes what moves it.
At a glance
| Item | YM (E-mini Dow, $5) |
|---|---|
| What it is | A futures contract on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (30 large US companies) |
| Tick size | 1 index point |
| One tick is worth | $5.00 (micro MYM: $0.50) |
| Busiest hours (ET) | 9:30–11:00 am and 3:00–4:00 pm |
| What moves it most | Earnings of the highest-priced Dow stocks, the Fed, jobs and inflation data |
| Trading hours | Sunday 6 pm to Friday 5 pm ET, daily break 5–6 pm ET |
Check cmegroup.com for current specs.
The Dow is built differently
Most indexes weight companies by their total size. The Dow doesn't. It's price-weighted: a stock with a higher share price has more pull, whatever the company's size.
In plain words: a $10 move in one high-priced Dow stock moves the index the same as a $10 move in any other Dow stock. So a few high-priced shares can push YM around more than you'd expect.
That's why YM sometimes goes its own way while ES and NQ go another.
YM and MYM
The micro Dow, MYM, is one tenth the size.
- YM: 1 point = $5.
- MYM: 1 point = $0.50.
- 10 MYM = 1 YM in dollar terms.
What moves it
- Earnings from high-priced Dow members. One big report can swing the index.
- The Fed. FOMC statement at 2:00 pm ET, press conference at 2:30 pm.
- Jobs and inflation. The jobs report and CPI, both 8:30 am ET.
- Old-economy news. The Dow holds banks, industrials, health care and consumer names, so news on the wider economy often matters more here than tech themes.
When it's busiest
Like the other stock index futures, YM is busiest once the US stock market opens at 9:30 am ET, and in the last hour before the 4:00 pm close. Overnight it's usually quieter and thinner than ES. The ET hours stay the same all year.
Its personality
- Whole-point ticks. Each tick is a full point, so the chart moves in clean steps.
- Thinner than ES. Fewer contracts trade, so the gap between buy and sell prices can be a bit wider, especially overnight.
- Can diverge. On days when tech leads or lags, YM may look different from NQ.
- Weekend gaps from Friday 5 pm ET to Sunday 6 pm ET.
- Expires quarterly: March, June, September, December.
Reading it with our method
Read the daily and 1-hour charts first. Mark the last places price turned around. Then trade with that direction on your entry chart.
Only count a level as broken when a candle body closes past it.
Size from the stop. Example: stop 60 points away. On YM that's 60 × $5 = $300 per contract. On MYM, $30. If your plan allows $90, that's 3 MYM. The futures tick value calculator does this in a few seconds. A math example, not a promise.
Common mistakes
- Assuming YM moves like ES. Price-weighting means a single stock can matter more.
- Comparing points across indexes. 100 Dow points is not the same move as 100 Nasdaq points. Compare in percent or in dollars per contract.
- Missing a Dow member's earnings date. Check the calendar for the high-priced names.
- Trading the thin overnight hours with the same size you'd use at 10 am.
Questions
How much is one YM point worth?
$5 per point for YM, and $0.50 for the micro MYM.
What is the Dow?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 30 large US companies, weighted by share price rather than company size.
Why does the Dow move differently from the S&P 500?
The S&P 500 has about 500 stocks weighted by company size. The Dow has 30 stocks weighted by share price. A big move in one high-priced Dow stock can pull the Dow alone.
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