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CME Globex futures market hours run from Sunday at 6:00 p.m. to Friday at 5:00 p.m. New York time (ET), with a one-hour daily break between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. Those hours apply to the stock index contracts (ES, NQ and their micros), crude oil (CL) and gold (GC). Just because the market is open nearly 23 hours a day doesn’t mean you should trade all of it: volume clusters between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. and in the last hour of the New York session. Below you’ll find the exact conversions for Chicago, Los Angeles, London, India and Sydney, including the clock changes in 2026 and 2027.
30-second summary
- CME Globex hours: Sunday 6:00 p.m. to Friday 5:00 p.m. ET, with daily maintenance from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. The same for ES, NQ, CL and GC.
- New York regular session: 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. That’s where index futures volume concentrates.
- Right now (US on standard time since November 1, 2026): the 9:30 a.m. ET open is 8:30 a.m. in Chicago, 14:30 in London (UTC), 20:00 in India and 01:30 the next day in Sydney.
- Busiest moments: 8:30 a.m. data, the 9:30 a.m. open, 10:00 a.m. data and the last hour before 4:00 p.m. ET.
- Upcoming holidays: Thanksgiving (November 26, 2026), Christmas (December 25, 2026), New Year’s Day (January 1, 2027) and Good Friday (March 26, 2027).
Futures market hours on CME Globex
According to the official E-mini S&P 500 contract specs, CME Globex trades Sunday through Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), with daily maintenance from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. WTI crude oil and gold follow the same schedule (5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Chicago time).
| Contract | Symbols | Globex hours (ET) | Daily break | Typical volume peaks (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | ES / MES | Sun 18:00 – Fri 17:00 | 17:00 – 18:00 | 8:30, 9:30–11:30, 15:00–16:00 |
| Nasdaq-100 | NQ / MNQ | Sun 18:00 – Fri 17:00 | 17:00 – 18:00 | 8:30, 9:30–11:30, 15:00–16:00 |
| WTI crude oil | CL / MCL | Sun 18:00 – Fri 17:00 | 17:00 – 18:00 | New York morning; Wednesday 10:30 (EIA inventories) |
| Gold | GC / MGC | Sun 18:00 – Fri 17:00 | 17:00 – 18:00 | London open (3:00) and New York morning |
Key detail: the CME trading day starts at 6:00 p.m. ET the previous evening (the Sunday session counts as Monday’s). That’s why the daily loss limit and end-of-day (EOD) drawdown are built around the 5:00 p.m. break, not midnight.
New York regular session vs extended session
Index futures trade almost around the clock, but the underlying stocks only trade from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET on the NYSE and Nasdaq. That creates two different markets:
| Feature | Regular trading hours (RTH) 9:30–16:00 | Extended trading hours (ETH) 18:00–9:30 |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | High, especially the first and last hour | Low during Asia; picks up with the European open (3:00) and the 8:30 data |
| Spread and slippage | Minimal on ES and NQ | Wider, especially overnight |
| Price action | Clear trends and reversals around the open | Tight ranges with jumps on Asian or European news |
On TradingView or Tradovate you can display just the regular session or the full session, and the prior day’s high and low differ between the two: decide which one you use. To set it up, see how to use TradingView step by step.
Futures market hours in Chicago, Los Angeles, London, India and Sydney
The gap with New York changes several times a year because the US, the UK and Europe, and Australia move their clocks on different dates, while India keeps the same time year-round (IST, UTC+5:30). Chicago and Los Angeles always stay one and three hours behind New York. These are the dates that matter:
- United States: returned to standard time on November 1, 2026 and springs forward on March 14, 2027.
- UK and European Union: switched to winter time on October 25, 2026 and spring forward on March 28, 2027.
- Sydney (New South Wales): on daylight saving time (AEDT, UTC+11) until April 4, 2027, when it returns to UTC+10.
Conversion table: November 2026 to March 2027
| Event | New York (ET) | Chicago (CT) | Los Angeles (PT) | London (UTC) | India (IST) | Sydney (AEDT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly open (Sunday) | 18:00 | 17:00 | 15:00 | 23:00 | 04:30 (Mon) | 10:00 (Mon) |
| US macro data | 8:30 | 7:30 | 5:30 | 13:30 | 19:00 | 00:30 (+1) |
| Cash open | 9:30 | 8:30 | 6:30 | 14:30 | 20:00 | 01:30 (+1) |
| 10:00 data (ISM, confidence) | 10:00 | 9:00 | 7:00 | 15:00 | 20:30 | 02:00 (+1) |
| EIA oil inventories (Wednesday) | 10:30 | 9:30 | 7:30 | 15:30 | 21:00 | 02:30 (+1) |
| Fed decision (FOMC) | 14:00 | 13:00 | 11:00 | 19:00 | 00:30 (+1) | 06:00 (+1) |
| Cash close | 16:00 | 15:00 | 13:00 | 21:00 | 02:30 (+1) | 08:00 (+1) |
| CME daily break | 17:00–18:00 | 16:00–17:00 | 14:00–15:00 | 22:00–23:00 | 03:30–04:30 (+1) | 09:00–10:00 (+1) |
Time difference from New York in each period
To convert any New York time, add the hours in this table based on the date:
| Period | UTC | London | India | Sydney | 9:30 NY open in London / India / Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2026 – Mar 13, 2027 | +5 | +5 | +10:30 | +16 | 14:30 / 20:00 / 01:30 (+1) |
| Mar 14 – Mar 27, 2027 | +4 | +4 | +9:30 | +15 | 13:30 / 19:00 / 00:30 (+1) |
| Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2027 | +4 | +5 | +9:30 | +15 | 14:30 / 19:00 / 00:30 (+1) |
| From Apr 4, 2027 (US summer time) | +4 | +5 | +9:30 | +14 | 14:30 / 19:00 / 23:30 |
Practical tip: set your platform and economic calendar to New York time. That way clock changes won’t throw off your routine.
Best time to trade futures: volume and volatility
The best time combines enough volume to get in and out without slippage with price action your strategy knows how to read. The New York day has five stretches:
- 8:30 a.m. – macro data: jobs (first Friday of the month), inflation (CPI), retail sales and Thursday’s jobless claims. A strong number can move NQ dozens of points in seconds.
- 9:30–11:30 a.m. – cash open: the highest-volume stretch of the day in ES and NQ. The first candles are the widest; many traders wait 5 to 15 minutes for the opening range to form.
- 11:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. – midday: less volume, tight ranges and more false signals, especially for breakouts.
- 2:00 p.m. – the Fed: on FOMC decision days (the next one is December 9, 2026) the market tends to sit still until the announcement and then move hard.
- 3:00–4:00 p.m. – the close: volume returns as funds rebalance and intraday positions are closed.
Crude oil has its own peak: the weekly EIA inventories, released Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. ET (shifted in holiday weeks, such as Thursday, November 12, 2026 at noon because of Veterans Day). Before trading any release, check our list of high-impact news events in trading and how they affect each market.
Worked example: the open on a 50K evaluation
Take a 50K Futures Evaluation with a USD 1,100 daily loss limit and USD 2,500 drawdown. The Micro Nasdaq (MNQ) is worth USD 2 per point. Suppose that in the first 15 minutes of the session NQ swings through an 80-point range, which is common on data days:
- A 20-point stop at 9:31 a.m.: the noise can stop you out several times. Three attempts with 5 MNQ: 3 × 20 × USD 2 × 5 = USD 600, more than half the daily loss limit before 9:45.
- Waiting until 9:45 a.m. with a 40-point stop behind the opening range and 3 MNQ: 40 × USD 2 × 3 = USD 240, 22% of the daily loss limit, with room for four mistakes.
- Slippage on an 8:30 a.m. release: if your stop fills 10 points worse than planned, that’s an extra USD 100 with 5 MNQ that wasn’t in your math.
The time of day changes the right position size. A stop that works at 11:00 a.m. may be too tight at 9:31.
CME holidays and early closes (2026–2027)
On US holidays the New York Stock Exchange closes and CME either opens with shortened hours or stays closed. These are the upcoming dates, per the NYSE and CME calendars:
| Date | Holiday | New York Stock Exchange | CME index futures (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu Nov 26, 2026 | Thanksgiving | Closed | Shortened session: halts at 1:00 p.m., reopens at 6:00 p.m. |
| Fri Nov 27, 2026 | Day after Thanksgiving | Closes at 1:00 p.m. | Early close at noon Chicago time (settlement at 1:00 p.m. ET) |
| Thu Dec 24, 2026 | Christmas Eve | Closes at 1:00 p.m. | Shortened session |
| Fri Dec 25, 2026 | Christmas | Closed | Closed |
| Fri Jan 1, 2027 | New Year’s Day | Closed | Closed |
| Mon Jan 18, 2027 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Closed | Halts at 1:00 p.m., reopens at 6:00 p.m. |
| Mon Feb 15, 2027 | Presidents’ Day | Closed | Halts at 1:00 p.m., reopens at 6:00 p.m. |
| Fri Mar 26, 2027 | Good Friday | Closed | Closed |
Volume drops in shortened sessions and price action gets erratic: they’re not good days to rack up minimum trading days.
Recommended routine by time zone for a futures evaluation
You pass an evaluation through repeated discipline, not hours in front of the screen. Base routine, valid until March 13, 2027:
| Step | New York (ET) | Chicago (CT) | London | India (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Check the economic calendar and prior-day levels | 8:00 | 7:00 | 13:00 | 18:30 |
| Watch the 8:30 release without trading | 8:30 | 7:30 | 13:30 | 19:00 |
| Main trading window | 9:45 – 11:30 | 8:45 – 10:30 | 14:45 – 16:30 | 20:15 – 22:00 |
| Second window (optional) | 15:00 – 15:50 | 14:00 – 14:50 | 20:00 – 20:50 | 01:30 – 02:20 (+1) |
| Close positions and log the day | Before 16:00 | Before 15:00 | Before 21:00 | Before 02:30 (+1) |
- US: local times in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles don’t move relative to the session when the clocks change, because the whole country changes on the same date.
- UK and India: from March 14, 2027 the whole routine moves one hour earlier. In London it moves back to the times above from March 28; in India it stays one hour earlier through the US summer.
- Europe and Australia: the New York session falls in the European afternoon and the Australian early morning. The European open at 3:00 a.m. ET also moves US indices, but with less volume; if you trade then, reduce your size.
- Everyone: set your own daily loss limit below the account’s and stop trading when you hit it. In the best strategies to pass a prop firm challenge we explain how to size that limit.
If you trade from several devices, a cloud platform lets you follow the same routine from the office or your phone; see what is Tradovate and how does it work. To understand how evaluations are structured, read our guide to the futures funding challenge.
Trading hours and rules on Emerge Profit futures accounts
Emerge Profit futures accounts use simulated trading, run on Tradovate, NinjaTrader or TradingView and follow the CME hours described above. Rules tied to the clock:
- News trading is allowed on both the Evaluation and Instant Funding, within their loss limits.
- No swing trading on futures accounts: on both the Futures Evaluation and Futures Instant Funding, positions are closed before the end of each session, with no overnight or weekend holding. Close before the CME daily break and confirm the cutoff time in your account rules.
- EOD drawdown on the Evaluation: the limit is recalculated from the closing balance of the trading day, so what matters is how the session ends, not the intraday floating peak.
- Evaluation with no time limit (5 minimum days): you don’t need to trade holidays to meet a deadline.
- Every trade must last at least 10 seconds and your size must stay consistent: don’t jump from micros to minis just because the open is moving fast.
You can start with the Futures Evaluation (from $60), with no activation fee when you pass and positions closed before the end of each session, or with Futures Instant Funding (from $130), with accounts from 5K to 250K and EOD or static drawdown, no evaluation phase.
Futures market hours FAQ
What time does the futures market open?
CME Globex opens Sunday at 6:00 p.m. New York time and trades until Friday at 5:00 p.m., with a daily break from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Between November 2026 and March 13, 2027, the Sunday open is 5:00 p.m. in Chicago, 11:00 p.m. in London and 10:00 a.m. Monday in Sydney.
What are Nasdaq futures trading hours?
Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ and MNQ) follow CME Globex hours: Sunday 6:00 p.m. to Friday 5:00 p.m. New York time. Volume is highest during the cash session, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
What is the best time to trade futures?
For most intraday traders, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. New York time, when volume is highest and slippage lowest. The last hour before 4:00 p.m. is the second-best window. Midday tends to produce tight ranges and false signals.
Can you trade futures on US holidays?
It depends on the holiday. CME doesn’t trade on Christmas, New Year’s Day or Good Friday. On Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents’ Day there’s a shortened session that halts at 1:00 p.m. New York time.
Can I trade news on an Emerge Profit evaluation?
Yes. News trading is allowed on Futures Evaluations and Futures Instant Funding. What you must respect are the daily loss limit and drawdown, the 10-second minimum trade duration and consistent position sizing.
Sources
- CME Group – E-mini S&P 500: contract specs and CME Globex hours (accessed November 2026).
- CME Group – Micro WTI Crude Oil Futures: fact card and Gold Futures: fact card (accessed November 2026).
- CME Group – Holiday Calendar and Thanksgiving Holiday Settlement Times 2026 (November 2026).
- NYSE – Holidays & Trading Hours 2026–2027 (accessed November 2026).
- U.S. Energy Information Administration – Weekly Petroleum Status Report Schedule (November 2026).
- Federal Reserve – December 2026 calendar (FOMC meeting).
- Time.is – Daylight Saving Time 2027 and European Commission, communication C/2026/1660.
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