Futures trading hours
Equity index futures trade almost twenty-three hours a day, five days a week. Liquidity changes a lot across those hours, which matters most for automated strategies.
When equity index futures trade
CME Globex equity index futures (ES, NQ, YM, RTY and their micros) open Sunday evening and run to Friday afternoon, with a short halt every weekday evening.
- Opens
- About 6:00 p.m. ET Sunday
- Closes
- About 5:00 p.m. ET Friday
- Daily halt
- 5:00–6:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Thursday
- In Central time (CME)
- 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with a 4:00–5:00 p.m. halt
- Regular hours
- 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET, matching the US cash equity session
- Other products
- Energies, metals and agriculturals keep their own hours. Check the exchange for your contract.
- Holiday weeks
- The schedule changes. Check the exchange calendar.
Asia, London and New York sessions
Shorthand for which region's cash markets are open, not exchange sessions. Futures trade straight through all three; liquidity follows them.
| Session | Hours (ET) | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | Roughly 6:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m. | Thinnest of the three; breakouts look better in testing than live |
| London | Roughly 3:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. | Liquidity improves; much of the day's direction is often set here |
| New York | 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Deepest book, tightest spreads; the hour after the open is busiest |
| London–New York overlap | 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Highest volume; where most intraday strategies are designed to operate |
An order that barely moves price at 10 a.m. ET can push through several levels at 3 a.m., and a stop can slip four ticks overnight instead of one.
What the hours mean for an automated strategy
A webhook places an order at 3 a.m. the same way it does at 10 a.m. The book is thinner overnight, so a strategy tested on regular-hours data fills worse in the Asia session.
Nothing fills during the halt, and price can reopen somewhere else.
- Stops are not working during the maintenance halt
- Daily P&L resets at session boundaries; a prop firm's day may differ
- To keep out of certain hours, add a time filter in the strategy
Other products keep different hours. Confirm yours with the exchange or your broker.
When futures roll over
Equity index futures expire in March, June, September and December. Volume moves to the next contract about a week before expiry, on the Thursday before the third Friday. The Tradovate API page covers symbols and the roll.
- Quarterly cycle
- March, June, September, December (H, M, U, Z) for equity index products. Other products roll on their own, often monthly, cycles.
- Volume moves first
- Liquidity migrates roughly a week before expiry, so the front month by volume and by date are briefly different contracts.
- Pinned symbols go stale
- Anything tied to one contract month starts trading the illiquid contract at the roll. Resolution has to follow the front month.
Check the hours for your contract
The exchange product page has session times, the holiday calendar and the expiry schedule. Your broker may narrow them, and prop firms often add their own windows.
- 01
When it trades
Session open and close, and the holiday schedule, on the exchange product page.
- 02
When it halts
The daily maintenance window, when no new orders go in and stops are not working.
- 03
When it rolls
The expiry cycle, and the date volume moves to the next contract.
- 04
Your firm's window
Whether your prop firm or broker sets a narrower window. Check the firm's current rules.
Common questions
Short answers to what traders ask first. Anything else, the Help Center has it.
What are futures trading hours?
CME Globex equity index futures trade from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon (roughly 6:00 p.m. ET Sunday to 5:00 p.m. ET Friday) with a maintenance halt of about an hour each weekday evening. Other products keep different schedules, so confirm yours with the exchange.
Are futures open 24 hours?
Nearly. Equity index futures trade about twenty-three hours a day on weekdays, with a short daily halt, and are closed from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening.
What time does the Asia session start for futures?
Around 6:00 p.m. ET, running to roughly 3:00 a.m. ET. It's when Asian cash markets are open, and the thinnest part of the futures day.
What are regular trading hours for futures?
For equity index futures, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, matching the US cash equity session. That window carries the deepest book, the tightest spreads and most of the day's volume.
Why does the futures market close for an hour each day?
It's a maintenance window for the exchange's systems. Positions carry through it, but no new orders can be placed and stops aren't working.
When do futures contracts roll over?
Equity index futures expire in March, June, September and December, and volume moves to the next contract about a week before expiry. Symbol resolution should follow the front month.
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