If you were asked to picture trading the U.S. stock market, what comes to mind? You may think of trading shares of companies like Apple, ExxonMobil or Disney.  But what if there was another way to express your views and gain broad-based exposure to U.S. equities - without trading each individual stock? One alternative is equity index futures and options. With a single transaction, investors can use these index-based contracts to manage risk or seek profits based on whether they think the stock market will rise or fall.  Learn the basics of these contracts, including what they are, how they’re built and how many ways you can use them.