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Futures market hours
Futures trade nearly 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Here is when, in Eastern Time.
Regular schedule (ET)
| Session | Hours |
|---|---|
| Weekly open | Sunday 6:00pm |
| Daily break | 5:00pm to 6:00pm, Monday to Thursday |
| Weekly close | Friday 5:00pm |
| US stock market (RTH) | 9:30am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday |
Applies to CME Globex equity index (NQ, ES, YM, RTY), energy (CL) and metals (GC) futures and their micros.
The busiest hours
- 9:30am to 11:30am ET: the US stock market open and the 2 hours after it. The highest volume of the day.
- 8:30am ET on major report days: CPI and the monthly jobs report usually land here.
- 2pm ET on FOMC days: the Federal Reserve rate decision.
Quieter hours: lunch, about 12pm to 2pm ET, and the overnight session.
At BluSky
The trading day and end-of-day drawdown roll at 6pm ET, when the futures session reopens. For BluSky session and holiday rules, see the BluSky Help Center.
Holidays
Exchange holidays close or shorten sessions. Always check the official CME Group trading hours before a holiday week.
Learn more: Lesson 4 of BluSky Flight School covers how to plan your day around these hours, and the Flight School cheat sheet puts them on 1 printable page.
New to futures? Start with Flight School.
6 modules and 24 short lessons, from what a futures contract is to your first payout.
This page is educational content only and is not financial advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Past performance does not guarantee future results.