Futures Trading Hours: When Can You Trade During the Day? (2024)

Do you know what the futures trading hours are? If you’ve been trading for any time, you know regular market hours are 9:30-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. But what about the Future? Are their hours different from regular market hours? The answer is yes! Which will make the future great for people who work full-time.

When it comes to futures trading hours, it’s important to note that the specific trading hours can vary depending on the exchange and the type of futures contract traded. For example, the trading hours of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), one of the largest futures exchanges, vary based on the product and time of year.

What Are the Futures Trading Hours?

Futures allow you to diversify your portfolio while gaining exposure to new markets. If you are a day trader, then futures are a great option because you can trade at nearly any time of the day. Investors can trade over 70 futures products virtually 24 hours a day, six days a week. Each specific exchange has its opening and closing times. However, not all hours are optimal.

For those who live in time zones where the NYSE opens at a cringe-worthy hour, futures could solve your problem. If you can’t drag yourself out of bed in the morning, have you considered trading futures overnight hours? Your dreams just may have come true as futures trade throughout the night.

Trading hours are in U.S. Central Time unless otherwise stated.

The general hours for the various exchanges of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) are as follows:

CME and CBT products submitted via CME ClearPort Clearing, the hours are: Sunday 5:00 p.m. – Friday 5:45 p.m. CST with no reporting Monday – Thursday 5:45 p.m.–6:00 p.m. CST

For CME OTC FX products submitted via CME ClearPort Clearing, the hours are Sunday 6:00 p.m. – Friday 5:45 p.m. CST with no reporting Monday – Thursday 5:45 p.m.–6:00 p.m. CST.

NYMEX and COMEX products submitted via CME ClearPort Clearing, the hours are: Sunday 5:00 p.m. – Friday 4:00 p.m. CST with no reporting Monday – Thursday 4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. CST

When trading, you want to be in a position with more market volume and liquidity. This leads to more opportunities to capitalize.

The great thing about futures is the ability to trade after hours. Make sure you can identify and trade evening star patterns. Candlesticks and patterns are super important. As a result, if you know how to find and trade them, you can trade Futures any time of day. And with success!

United States equity index futures trade around the clock, with a one-hour and fifteen-minute break each day. Understanding the best equity means understanding two separate trading sessions. The morning overlap is session one, and the U.S. going into the close is session two.

Morning Overlap Session all CST:

• 8:30 AM – the markets open for U.S. session trading
• 10:30 AM – European equity markets closed for trading
• 8:30 – 10:30 AM is the most liquid session and is called the U.S. and EUR “overlap.” this can extend to noon daily.
• European traders will close their positions, forcing an increase in the volume.

Afternoon Closing Session:

• 1:00 PM – institutional/professional trading volume picks up
• 3:00 PM – market on close orders are processed (MOCs), and the U.S. closes officially
• 1:00 – 3:00 PM is the most liquid part of the afternoon as professional traders balance their books into the close, the last 20 minutes or so into 3:00 PM, the highest volume

Energy has a similar overlap and closing pattern of high volatility. Understanding how sectors and indices work is important, especially if you buy and sell during the day.

Energy Overlap and US Closing:

• CL opens its “pit session” at 8 AM CST
• European trading closes at 10:30 AM CST
• Most liquid, between 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM
• The pit session closes at 1:30 PM CST; floor trading stops for the day
• Best trading is the last hour between 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM CST when institution positions are closed

1. Access to Global Markets

Trading futures overnight allows traders to trade in different markets in different time zones worldwide. The world is truly at your fingertips. More importantly, this can give you the advantage over others still in bed as you’re the first to hear about news and events in other regions. Why is this important? For starters, geopolitical developments or economic announcements can significantly impact the market. For example, awake traders can react immediately if important news comes from Asia or Europe overnight.