A stock index future is a cash-settled contract based upon the value of a stock market index, such as the S&P 500 stock market index. These contracts have a broad spectrum of uses, including hedging risk.
Stock Index Futures Markets
CRB CCI Index Futures- The CCI, or Continuous Commodity Index, revised the original Commodity Reaserch Bureau Index (CRB) in 1995. NASDAQ 100 Futures- The NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index of the largest 100 non-financial companies. Russell 2000 Futures- The Russell 2000 Index is the most commonly quoted performance index of small-cap and medium-cap company shares. S&P 500 Index Futures- Focusing on 500 large-cap common U.S. stocks, the S&P 500 is a narrower market indicator than the Russell 2000.