Futures mechanics
Futures settlement price vs last price
The last price is the latest completed trade. A futures settlement price is the exchange's calculated daily reference for valuing open positions. They can differ, and a daily chart may use settlement as its closing value even when the final trade occurred at another price.
Why settlement can differ from the last trade
For the lead E-mini S&P 500 (ES) contract month, CME's normal daily procedure uses a volume-weighted average of Globex trades from 14:59:30 to 15:00:00 Central Time, rounded to the nearest 0.25 index point. Other contract months have separate procedures, and fallback pricing rules apply when the required trades are absent.
For a simplified hypothetical window with one contract traded at 5,000.00 and three at 5,001.00, the weighted average is (1 × 5,000 + 3 × 5,001) ÷ 4 = 5,000.75. The last trade could be 5,001.00 while the settlement is 5,000.75. This example illustrates the calculation; it is not observed market data.
Sources: CME: E-mini S&P 500 daily and final settlement procedures
Calculate the settlement change separately from the last-price change
For a position carried from the previous settlement, daily mark-to-market uses the change between settlement prices. ES is worth $50 per index point per contract. Suppose you carry two long ES contracts from a prior settlement of 5,000.00, make no intervening trades, and the next settlement is 5,003.00.
The settlement gain is (5,003.00 − 5,000.00) × $50 × 2 = $300 before fees. If the last trade is instead 5,004.25, marking those same contracts from the prior settlement to that last price gives $425. The $125 difference comes from the valuation price; it is not an extra trade or a guaranteed execution price.
On CME's settlement report, Change compares the trade-date settlement with the previous day's settlement. Match the contract month and trade date before comparing that figure with a platform's live P&L.
| Price used in this hypothetical example | Change from 5,000.00 | Two long ES contracts, before fees |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement: 5,003.00 | +3.00 points | +$300 |
| Last trade: 5,004.25 | +4.25 points | +$425 |
Sources: CME: daily mark-to-market · CME Rulebook: E-mini S&P 500 contract specifications · CME: reading settlement report fields
Check which close your daily chart displays
TradingView supports settlement or last-trade closes for eligible futures contracts and continuous futures on daily and higher timeframes. Its settlement-close setting is enabled by default. Use the SET control or clear “Use settlement as close on daily interval” in the chart settings to display last-trade closes instead.
This setting does not change intraday data. TradingView's Watchlist, Details and Screener continue to use settlement, so they can differ from a chart with settlement disabled. If the control is absent, TradingView says the feature is not available for that contract.
Sources: TradingView: switch settlement and last prices as the daily close
Daily settlement is different from settlement at expiration
Daily settlement values an open position for that trading day. Final settlement resolves the expiring contract under its own rules. For ES, the final value uses a special opening quotation based on the opening prices of the S&P 500's component stocks, normally on the third Friday of the contract month. It is not simply the previous daily settlement or the final futures trade.
Sources: CME: E-mini S&P 500 daily and final settlement procedures
A settlement calculation does not establish a Boxcar payout
Boxcar evaluation and simulated-funded accounts use virtual funds, and their orders do not enter live markets. The exchange calculation above does not determine a simulated-funded payout. Live trading requires Boxcar's express designation under a separate written agreement; the stages guide explains that distinction.
Sources: Boxcar: evaluation, simulated-funded and live stages