Lesson 6 of 14 · 2 min
Market hours and sessions
Globex vs regular hours, the open, lunch and the close, and why the time of day changes how the market behaves. All times Eastern.
ES and NQ trade almost around the clock, but the market behaves very differently at 3 am than at 9:35 am. Knowing the clock is part of knowing the market.
The futures day (ET)
- Globex (electronic trading) runs from Sunday 6:00 pm to Friday 5:00 pm ET, with a short daily pause from 5:00 to 6:00 pm.
- Regular trading hours (RTH) line up with the US stock market: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm ET. Everything outside that is often called the overnight or ETH session.
The sessions, roughly
- Asia (about 6 pm–3 am): usually the quietest stretch.
- London (about 3 am–9:30 am): activity picks up as Europe opens.
- 8:30 am: many big US data releases (inflation, jobs) land here, before the stock market opens.
- New York (9:30 am–4:00 pm): most of the day's volume.
Why time of day matters
- The open (9:30–10:30): the biggest players arrive. Volume jumps, moves get bigger and faster, and the day often picks a direction.
- Lunch (about 11:30–1:30): volume dries up. Moves are smaller and choppier, and fake breakouts are common.
- The close (3:00–4:00): volume comes back as funds and hedgers adjust positions into the end of the day.
- Overnight: thinner, so price can drift or jump on less volume.
Holidays and data days
Holidays change the hours (check CME's calendar), and scheduled news like Fed decisions (usually 2:00 pm ET) can change a session's personality in a second.
Quick recap
- Globex: Sunday 6 pm to Friday 5 pm ET, with a 5–6 pm pause each day.
- RTH: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm ET. Most volume trades here.
- Open, lunch and close behave differently. Plan around them.
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