CME
E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ) Tick Value & Contract Specs
Tick value $5.00 per tick — $20 × the Nasdaq-100 index.
The E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ) gives futures traders leveraged exposure to the hundred largest non-financial Nasdaq stocks — in practice, a concentrated bet on US large-cap tech. The contract is worth $20 per index point with a 0.25-point tick, making each tick worth $5.00. What catches newcomers out is not the tick value but the range: NQ regularly moves several hundred points in a session, so the dollar swings per contract routinely exceed those of ES despite the smaller multiplier.
With the index at 18,000, one NQ contract carries $360,000 of notional exposure — more than a full-size ES at typical index levels. Sizing therefore matters even more here: a 50-point stop is 200 ticks, or $1,000 per contract. Traders wanting the same exposure in smaller increments use the Micro (MNQ) at exactly one-tenth the multiplier. Run your planned entry and stop through the calculator below to see the dollar risk before taking the trade.
- Exchange
- CME
- Contract size
- $20 × the Nasdaq-100 index
- Tick size
- 0.25
- Tick value
- $5.00
- Point value (multiplier)
- $20
- Trading hours
- Sun–Fri 6:00pm–5:00pm ET, with a daily trading halt 4:15pm–4:30pm ET
- Margin
- Margin varies by broker and typically moves with volatility — check your broker for current initial/maintenance margin.
How NQ tick value works
Tick value is the dollar amount one futures contract gains or loses when the price moves one minimum increment (one tick).
tick value = tick size × multiplier. For NQ, that is 0.25 × $20 = $5.00 per tick, per contract.
One contract represents $20 × the Nasdaq-100 index. P&L for a move from entry to exit is (exit − entry) ÷ tick size × tick value × contracts.
NQ contract months and ticker symbols
A futures ticker is three parts: the root, a one-letter delivery month, and the year. NQZ2026 is the December 2026 NQ contract. The month letters skip I and L, which would read as 1 and 7 on a ticker.
| Code | Month | Listed for NQ? |
|---|---|---|
| F | January | No |
| G | February | No |
| H | March | Yes — NQH |
| J | April | No |
| K | May | No |
| M | June | Yes — NQM |
| N | July | No |
| Q | August | No |
| U | September | Yes — NQU |
| V | October | No |
| X | November | No |
| Z | December | Yes — NQZ |
Which NQ contract am I looking at?
Most charts default to the continuous front-month series rather than a dated contract — one stitched-together chart that rolls to the next month as the current one nears expiry. Every platform spells it differently, which is why the same contract appears under so many names.
| Written as | Platform | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| NQ1! | TradingView | Continuous front-month contract. "2!" is the next one out, and a dated contract is written in full, e.g. NQZ2026. |
| NQ00 | Barchart | Continuous front-month series. "NQZ26" style codes name a specific month and year instead. |
| NQc1 | Refinitiv / Reuters | Continuous front month; c2 is the second month out. |
| /NQ | thinkorswim, tastytrade | The leading slash marks it as a future rather than a stock. A specific month is /NQZ26. |
| NQ=F | Yahoo Finance | The "=F" suffix denotes the front-month futures series. |
| $NQ | StockTwits, social | A cashtag, not an exchange symbol. It usually means the front month, but it is informal and ambiguous. |
A dated code such as NQZ26 always means one specific contract; the continuous forms never do. Check which you are quoting before comparing a price to someone else’s — around a roll they differ.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the tick value for NQ?
- $5.00 per tick — a 0.25 tick size × a $20 multiplier (point value).
- What is one NQ contract worth?
- One contract represents $20 × the Nasdaq-100 index. Notional value = price × $20; use the tick value calculator with the current price for an exact figure.
- Which exchange lists NQ?
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ) trades on the CME.
- What are the trading hours for NQ?
- Sun–Fri 6:00pm–5:00pm ET, with a daily trading halt 4:15pm–4:30pm ET.
- How much margin do I need to trade NQ?
- Margin varies by broker and typically moves with volatility — check your broker for current initial/maintenance margin.
- What are the NQ contract months?
- NQ lists March, June, September and December.
- What does NQZ2026 mean?
- It is one specific NQ contract: the root NQ, the delivery-month code Z, and the year. Z is December, so NQZ2026 is the December 2026 contract. The codes run F G H J K M N Q U V X Z for January through December — I and L are skipped because they read as 1 and 7 on a ticker.
- What is NQ00, NQ1! or /NQ?
- All three name the same thing: the continuous front-month NQ contract, written differently by different platforms. Barchart uses NQ00, TradingView NQ1!, thinkorswim and tastytrade /NQ, Yahoo Finance NQ=F, and NQ on social media is usually written $NQ. None of them is a separate instrument — each stitches together whichever dated contract is currently the front month.
- How is P&L calculated for NQ?
- P&L = (exit price − entry price) ÷ 0.25 tick size × $5.00 tick value × number of contracts. Use the tick value calculator to compute this directly.
More futures contract specs
- MNQ — Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100Tick value $0.50 · CME
- YM — E-mini DowTick value $5.00 · CBOT
- MYM — Micro E-mini DowTick value $0.50 · CBOT
- RTY — E-mini Russell 2000Tick value $5.00 · CME
See all futures contract specs or use the futures contract & tick value calculator with any symbol or custom specs.
Specs last reviewed 2026-09-06. Exchanges can amend contract specs — always confirm against the exchange or your broker before trading.