CBOT
E-mini Dow (YM) Tick Value & Contract Specs
Tick value $5.00 per tick — $5 × the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The E-mini Dow (YM) tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average at $5 per point, with a full 1-point tick — the simplest tick arithmetic of the major index futures. One point equals one tick equals $5, so a 100-point Dow move is exactly $500 per contract. No quarter-point conversions, no mental gymnastics: the price change you see on the chart times five is your P&L in dollars.
That simplicity makes YM a common starting point, but the contract has its own character. The Dow is a price-weighted index of 30 stocks, so a handful of high-priced names can move it in ways that don't mirror the S&P 500. Notional value with the index at 40,000 is $200,000 per contract — comparable to ES — and margin requirements are similar. Traders who want direct Dow exposure with cleaner sizing can still combine YM with the position size calculator; the tick value calculator below is pre-filled with YM's specs.
- Exchange
- CBOT
- Contract size
- $5 × the Dow Jones Industrial Average
- Tick size
- 1
- Tick value
- $5.00
- Point value (multiplier)
- $5
- 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 YM 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 YM, that is 1 × $5 = $5.00 per tick, per contract.
One contract represents $5 × the Dow Jones Industrial Average. P&L for a move from entry to exit is (exit − entry) ÷ tick size × tick value × contracts.
YM contract months and ticker symbols
A futures ticker is three parts: the root, a one-letter delivery month, and the year. YMZ2026 is the December 2026 YM contract. The month letters skip I and L, which would read as 1 and 7 on a ticker.
| Code | Month | Listed for YM? |
|---|---|---|
| F | January | No |
| G | February | No |
| H | March | Yes — YMH |
| J | April | No |
| K | May | No |
| M | June | Yes — YMM |
| N | July | No |
| Q | August | No |
| U | September | Yes — YMU |
| V | October | No |
| X | November | No |
| Z | December | Yes — YMZ |
Which YM 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 |
|---|---|---|
| YM1! | TradingView | Continuous front-month contract. "2!" is the next one out, and a dated contract is written in full, e.g. YMZ2026. |
| YM00 | Barchart | Continuous front-month series. "YMZ26" style codes name a specific month and year instead. |
| YMc1 | Refinitiv / Reuters | Continuous front month; c2 is the second month out. |
| /YM | thinkorswim, tastytrade | The leading slash marks it as a future rather than a stock. A specific month is /YMZ26. |
| YM=F | Yahoo Finance | The "=F" suffix denotes the front-month futures series. |
| $YM | 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 YMZ26 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 YM?
- $5.00 per tick — a 1 tick size × a $5 multiplier (point value).
- What is one YM contract worth?
- One contract represents $5 × the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Notional value = price × $5; use the tick value calculator with the current price for an exact figure.
- Which exchange lists YM?
- E-mini Dow (YM) trades on the CBOT.
- What are the trading hours for YM?
- 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 YM?
- Margin varies by broker and typically moves with volatility — check your broker for current initial/maintenance margin.
- What are the YM contract months?
- YM lists March, June, September and December.
- What does YMZ2026 mean?
- It is one specific YM contract: the root YM, the delivery-month code Z, and the year. Z is December, so YMZ2026 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 YM00, YM1! or /YM?
- All three name the same thing: the continuous front-month YM contract, written differently by different platforms. Barchart uses YM00, TradingView YM1!, thinkorswim and tastytrade /YM, Yahoo Finance YM=F, and YM on social media is usually written $YM. None of them is a separate instrument — each stitches together whichever dated contract is currently the front month.
- How is P&L calculated for YM?
- P&L = (exit price − entry price) ÷ 1 tick size × $5.00 tick value × number of contracts. Use the tick value calculator to compute this directly.
More futures contract specs
- MYM — Micro E-mini DowTick value $0.50 · CBOT
- RTY — E-mini Russell 2000Tick value $5.00 · CME
- M2K — Micro E-mini Russell 2000Tick value $0.50 · CME
- NKD — Nikkei 225 (Dollar)Tick value $25.00 · 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.