Sessions and the trading day

CME equity index futures trade nearly 24 hours a day, Sunday evening to Friday afternoon. The regular schedule runs from 6:00pm to 5:00pm New York time, with a one-hour break each day. Always confirm current hours on the exchange's website, including holiday schedules.

Why sessions matter

Activity is not spread evenly across the day. Traders commonly talk about three sessions:

• Asia: the evening and overnight in New York, usually the quietest period for US index futures.
• London: from the early hours New York time, when European markets open and activity rises.
• New York: the busiest period, particularly around the US cash open at 9:30 and the first hours after it.

Many popular strategies are defined around these sessions, and around specific windows inside them, which traders sometimes call killzones.

The time zone trap

The US, UK and Europe change their clocks on different dates. A session defined in one fixed time zone, such as UTC, will be an hour off for part of the year. When a strategy depends on the time of day, it needs to be written in the local time of the market it refers to.

Educational content only. Not financial advice.