CME launches single-stock futures on SpaceX, Micron and other U.S. stocks

CME Group has launched cashsettled singlestock futures tied to 55 U.S. equities, including SpaceX, Micron Technology, Nvidia, Tesla and Apple. The contracts are designed to let investors take leveraged long or short positions and trade for nearly 24 hours a day on CME’s Globex platform, with a brief daily maintenance break. The exchange said the products are intended to give traders a simpler alternative to options for expressing bullish or bearish views, without time decay or changing implied volatility. Standard contracts represent 100 shares of the underlying stock, while micro contracts represent 10 shares, and both require only a fraction of the capital of a direct stock purchase because they are traded on margin. CME said the contracts are cash settled at expiration based on the stock’s official closing price and do not confer ownership in the companies. The launch comes as CME faces pressure from growing interest in perpetual futures products on overseas exchanges, while U.S. regulators have begun allowing some cryptorelated perpetual contracts.