Final settlement price and the special opening quotation

The final settlement price is the price at which an expiring futures contract's open positions are settled. For CME equity index futures it is the special opening quotation (SOQ) of the index on expiration Friday, computed from each component stock's opening price, which is why it can differ both from the index level printed at the open and from the last futures trade.

Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026

Definition

Every contract defines how its last value is set. A delivered contract ends in delivery at an invoice price; a cash-settled contract ends with a final settlement price computed by a documented procedure. The CFTC glossary describes the settlement price of a cash-settled future as the price at which it is settled at maturity, pursuant to a procedure specified by the exchange.

The special opening quotation

CME's E-mini equity index futures stop trading at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time on the third Friday of the contract month and settle to the special opening quotation of the index. The SOQ uses the opening price of each component stock that day, whenever each one opens. The index value disseminated at 9:30 is computed from whatever prices exist at that moment, so the two generally differ, sometimes noticeably when some stocks open late.

Worked example

A trader is long 2 ES from 4,990.00 at expiry and the SOQ comes out at 5,003.40. The total result is (5,003.40 − 4,990.00) × $50 × 2 = 13.40 × 100 = $1,340. The SOQ is an index value and need not fall on a 0.25 futures tick.

Why it matters

  • Positions held into expiry are exposed to the stock market's open, not to the futures tape.
  • The last futures trades before 9:30 ET can print away from where the SOQ lands.
  • The next contract keeps trading normally, which is where charts should already be.

In Senzoukria

The application's expiry rule for ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, RTY, M2K, YM and MYM is the third Friday, with the default contract moving to the next quarter eight calendar days earlier. It does not display the SOQ or any final settlement value; the expiring contract simply stops receiving trades and leaves the picker the next day.

Common mistakes

  • Expecting the final settlement to equal the last futures print.
  • Comparing the SOQ with the index value shown at 9:30 and assuming an error.
  • Leaving a chart on the expiring contract on expiration morning and reading its last trades as market signals.

In the same section

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Why does the SOQ differ from the index open?
Because the SOQ waits for each component's actual opening price, while the index printed at 9:30 uses whatever prices exist at that second, including previous closes for stocks that have not opened. The SOQ is therefore computed later and can land away from the first index print.
Can I trade the expiring ES contract on expiration Friday?
Only until trading terminates at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. After that, open positions settle to the SOQ and the contract no longer trades.

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