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Session Opens (Globex, London, New York)
The three times of day when futures liquidity and volatility change character — and why time-of-day is an edge.
What it is
Futures trade nearly 24 hours, but not equally: the Globex reopen (6pm ET), London morning (~3am ET), and the New York open (9:30am ET) each inject distinct volatility and participation. Setups that print in dead hours behave differently from identical setups in live hours.
Why it matters
The same strategy can be profitable 9:30am–4pm and a slow bleed overnight. Auditing your results by time-of-day is one of the fastest ways to find hidden edge — or hidden leaks.
NQ example REAL SCENARIO
A retrace-entry system backtests +$1,900 during New York hours and −$4,900 in the overnight session on identical rules — the clock, not the pattern, was the variable.