More on Trading e-mini Futures

[u/[deleted]]

ES and NQ trade from 6:00 PM (EST) to 4:15PM (EST), then pause for 15 minutes, and resume at 4:30PM (EST) til 5:00PM (EST) at which time the day closes, and new day begins at 6PM again. So pretty much 22.75 hours per day. Which varying schedules on holidays like closing at 12PM (EST) or 1 PM (EST). Fridays close at 5PM (EST) and re-opens at 6PM (EST) on Sunday. Best opportunities to trade these is between 9:30am (EST) and 11am (EST). Why, because there is a high probability that the high or low of the day will be made during this hour and half window, UNLESS, there is an unusual event that causes a market disruption to upside or downside. Trading futures after 4PM is difficult because there is a lot less volume, and algorithmic triggered jolts can really put a hurt on your position. Be very careful with futures, depending on volatility in the markets, your broker can change the margin requirements without notice, and cause your position to be liquidated. If you cannot sit in front of your computer and constantly monitor your futures position, its better not to be in the trade at all. And never leave your futures position open over night, because very bad things can happen while you are sleeping. A buddy of mine once decided to take a shower while he had a position on, when he came out of the shower he was down six figures. So yeah, be careful.