CFTC Commitments of Traders, NQ & ES futures positioning, positions as of 20 Oct 2026NQ dealers net short 94,122 contracts

Name: CFTC COT positions in NQ, ES, MNQ and MES futures as of 20 Oct 2026
Creator: The Quackonomist

Positions at the close of business on Tuesday 20 Oct 2026, published by the CFTC on 23 Oct 2026 (15:30 ET). NQ dealers' net position is at the 4th percentile of the last 156 weekly reports, the furthest from the middle of its 3-year range among the NQ and ES groups. Changes below compare with the previous weekly report.

E-mini Nasdaq-100 NQ

CFTC code 209742 · NASDAQ 100 STOCK INDEX X $20 · net position = long minus short, contracts

E-mini Nasdaq-100: positions as of 20 Oct 2026 and changes vs the 13 Oct 2026 report, contracts
Group	Long	Short	Net	Net prev.	Net chg	Long chg	Short chg	1y pct	3y pct
Asset Manager	109,985	32,195	77,790	75,323	+2,467	−2,619	−5,086	67th	60th
Leveraged Funds	51,749	50,799	950	−11,593	+12,543	+3,643	−8,900	90th	94th
Dealer	38,475	132,597	−94,122	−77,932	−16,190	−10,100	+6,090	12th	4th

Open interest: 272,462 contracts (−7,053 vs the 13 Oct 2026 report).

Line chart of weekly net positions in E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures by trader group over 3 years to 20 Oct 2026. Asset managers 77,790, leveraged funds 950, dealers −94,122 contracts.

What the data shows

Asset managers were net long 77,790 contracts, the highest net position since the 7 Jul 2026 report, 15 weeks earlier; that is the 60th percentile of the last 156 weekly reports.
Leveraged funds were net long 950 contracts, the highest net position since the 25 Nov 2025 report, 47 weeks earlier; that is the 94th percentile of the last 156 weekly reports. The previous week they were net short 11,593.
Dealers were net short 94,122 contracts, the lowest net position since the 25 Nov 2025 report, 47 weeks earlier; that is the 4th percentile of the last 156 weekly reports.
The largest week-over-week change of the three groups was in dealers: their net position fell by 16,190 contracts.

E-mini S&P 500 ES

CFTC code 13874A · $50 X S&P 500 INDEX · net position = long minus short, contracts

E-mini S&P 500: positions as of 20 Oct 2026 and changes vs the 13 Oct 2026 report, contracts
Group	Long	Short	Net	Net prev.	Net chg	Long chg	Short chg	1y pct	3y pct
Asset Manager	1,101,642	200,265	901,377	915,835	−14,458	−8,742	+5,716	12th	30th
Leveraged Funds	135,034	506,279	−371,245	−408,726	+37,481	+13,630	−23,851	62nd	36th
Dealer	184,740	821,671	−636,931	−602,358	−34,573	−16,220	+18,353	83rd	69th

Open interest: 1,935,470 contracts (+3,863 vs the 13 Oct 2026 report).

Line chart of weekly net positions in E-mini S&P 500 futures by trader group over 3 years to 20 Oct 2026. Asset managers 901,377, leveraged funds −371,245, dealers −636,931 contracts.

What the data shows

Asset managers were net long 901,377 contracts, the lowest net position since the 24 Mar 2026 report, 30 weeks earlier; that is the 30th percentile of the last 156 weekly reports.
Leveraged funds were net short 371,245 contracts, the 62nd percentile of the last 52 weekly reports and the 36th percentile of the last 156.
Dealers were net short 636,931 contracts, the 83rd percentile of the last 52 weekly reports and the 69th percentile of the last 156.
The largest week-over-week change of the three groups was in leveraged funds: their net position rose by 37,481 contracts.

Micro contracts

Separate CFTC rows. Micro contracts are one tenth of the E-mini size, so contract counts are not directly comparable with NQ and ES.

Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 MNQ

CFTC code 209747 · NASDAQ 100 STOCK INDEX x $2 · net position = long minus short, contracts

Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100: positions as of 20 Oct 2026 and changes vs the 13 Oct 2026 report, contracts
Group	Long	Short	Net	Net prev.	Net chg	Long chg	Short chg	1y pct	3y pct
Asset Manager	10,247	479	9,768	10,790	−1,022	−764	+258	60th	87th
Leveraged Funds	8,979	95,360	−86,381	−102,978	+16,597	−1,116	−17,713	52nd	24th
Dealer	54,296	12,488	41,808	41,250	+558	+4,210	+3,652	33rd	73rd

Open interest: 134,202 contracts (−18,403 vs the 13 Oct 2026 report).

Line chart of weekly net positions in Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures by trader group over 3 years to 20 Oct 2026. Asset managers 9,768, leveraged funds −86,381, dealers 41,808 contracts.

What the data shows

Asset managers were net long 9,768 contracts, the 60th percentile of the last 52 weekly reports and the 87th percentile of the last 156.
Leveraged funds were net short 86,381 contracts, the 52nd percentile of the last 52 weekly reports and the 24th percentile of the last 156.
Dealers were net long 41,808 contracts, the 33rd percentile of the last 52 weekly reports and the 73rd percentile of the last 156.
The largest week-over-week change of the three groups was in leveraged funds: their net position rose by 16,597 contracts.

Micro E-mini S&P 500 MES

CFTC code 13874U · $5 X S&P 500 INDEX · net position = long minus short, contracts

Micro E-mini S&P 500: positions as of 20 Oct 2026 and changes vs the 13 Oct 2026 report, contracts
Group	Long	Short	Net	Net prev.	Net chg	Long chg	Short chg	1y pct	3y pct
Asset Manager	26,616	196	26,420	22,625	+3,795	+3,893	+98	69th	79th
Leveraged Funds	76,560	92,807	−16,247	−17,918	+1,671	+19,394	+17,723	50th	36th
Dealer	6,862	15,454	−8,592	−8,063	−529	+3,586	+4,115	19th	15th

Open interest: 194,990 contracts (+30,500 vs the 13 Oct 2026 report).

Line chart of weekly net positions in Micro E-mini S&P 500 futures by trader group over 3 years to 20 Oct 2026. Asset managers 26,420, leveraged funds −16,247, dealers −8,592 contracts.

What the data shows

Asset managers were net long 26,420 contracts, the 69th percentile of the last 52 weekly reports and the 79th percentile of the last 156.
Leveraged funds were net short 16,247 contracts, the 50th percentile of the last 52 weekly reports and the 36th percentile of the last 156.
Dealers were net short 8,592 contracts, the 19th percentile of the last 52 weekly reports and the 15th percentile of the last 156.
The largest week-over-week change of the three groups was in asset managers: their net position rose by 3,795 contracts.

Source: CFTC Commitments of Traders, Traders in Financial Futures, futures only, report as of 20 Oct 2026, released 23 Oct 2026. Net = long minus short; percentile = share of the last 52 / 156 weekly net positions at or below this week's. Method · This week's data (JSON)

Disclaimer

Author: The Quackonomist (pseudonym). Publisher: Momentum Finance s. r. o., Ladislava Hudeca 15326/2A, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, IČO 55328067, Commercial Register of the District Court Banská Bystrica, Section Sro, File No. 45986/S; contact: privateequitystock@gmail.com. Data as of: 20 Oct 2026 (positions at close of business, Tuesday); CFTC release 23 Oct 2026, 15:30 ET / 21:30 CEST. Sources: CFTC Commitments of Traders (Traders in Financial Futures, futures only), via publicreporting.cftc.gov; data may be delayed or contain errors.

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