Quick answer
- ES, NQ, MES and MNQ normally trade from Sunday 5:00 p.m. to Friday 4:00 p.m. CT, with a 4:00–5:00 p.m. CT break Monday through Thursday.
- Other CME Group products can follow different schedules. Check the product and trade date on the CME trading hours.
- A prop firm's flat time and drawdown update are separate account rules.
“CME hours” is not one universal timetable. The exchange publishes schedules by product and trade date. The equity-index schedule below is useful for ES, NQ and their Micro E-mini equivalents, but it should not be copied to grains, energy or metals without checking the product.
The evening session belongs to the next exchange trade date. That detail matters when a platform labels fills, resets daily P&L or applies a prop account rule.
Equity-index session in Central Time
| Item | Normal time |
|---|---|
| Sunday open | 5:00 p.m. CT |
| Monday–Thursday break | 4:00–5:00 p.m. CT |
| Friday close | 4:00 p.m. CT |
| US cash-market reference window | 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. CT |
These are normal hours for CME equity-index futures. A holiday schedule can override them. No trades match while the market is closed. During pre-open, order entry, modification and cancellation can be available without matching, so read the displayed market state and your platform's order handling.
Settlement is not the prop account reset
On a normal day, the lead ES contract's daily settlement is based on activity from 2:59:30 to 3:00:00 p.m. CT. MES uses the ES settlement price. This exchange calculation does not determine every prop firm's drawdown reset or forced-close time. Check the account rule separately. Source: CME ES settlement procedure.
Corn uses split sessions
Corn futures trade in two windows: 7:00 p.m.–7:45 a.m. CT and 8:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m. CT. There is no matching between the morning sessions. Source: CME corn product overview.
Holiday dates still requiring a product check
| Date | Planning action |
|---|---|
| November 26, 2026 | Check Thanksgiving schedule |
| November 27, 2026 | Check Black Friday schedule |
| December 24–25, 2026 | Check Christmas schedule |
| December 31, 2026–January 1, 2027 | Check year-end schedule |
CME publishes product-specific holiday files. Do not assume one early-close time applies across CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX.
Five-minute pre-session check
- Open the exchange schedule for the exact symbol and trade date.
- Confirm whether the platform is in pre-open, open or closed state.
- Check the prop account's flat time and holiday notice.
- Check the broker or platform cutoff if you plan to hold.
- Cancel stale working orders before a close or contract change.
Checked September 9, 2026. CME owns exchange hours and settlement procedures. Each firm owns its account deadlines.
Recheck: before every holiday week, after an exchange schedule notice, or after a firm changes its close rule.