The increased access to international markets is nowhere more evident than in the world of stock index futures contracts. Futures traders now have access to electronically traded equity futures markets around the world, with some of the top-volume contracts being traded outside U.S. borders.

The next section briefly reviews these contracts, starting with Australia and Asia and working toward the Americas. In the contract descriptions "quarterly cycle" refers to the March-June- September-December contract month cycle; "serial months" refers to contracts listed in consecutive calendar months (January, February etc.).