Ticker Symbol

A Ticker Symbol is the symbol by which a traded instrument is known by on the exchange on which it is traded.

For example, one of the most popular (arguably the most popular) index future is the E-mini S&P500. It is traded on the CME and its Ticker Symbol on the CME is ES. Most Feed Vendors also use this symbol when referring to the ES.

A Feed Vendor's symbol does not always match the exchange's symbol. This may be because of restrictions to the way a Feed Vendor stores its symbols. For example, CME's Ticker Symbol for the E-mini Russell 2000 Index Future (before it was moved to ICE) was ER2 but eSignal (a feed vendor) referred to this as the AB in their system.