Trading hours — The windows during which a firm permits trading, and the times by which positions must be closed.
How trading hours works in prop trading
Most futures prop firms allow trading across the full CME session but require positions to be flat by a stated time — commonly a few minutes before the 5:00 p.m. Eastern settle, and often earlier on the Friday close. Positions still open at the deadline are usually liquidated automatically, and some firms treat the auto-liquidation itself as a rule violation on top of the loss.
The rules that catch people are the edge cases rather than the main session. Holiday schedules, early closes, and the daily maintenance break each have their own flatten requirements, and news windows may carry a separate restriction. Time zones matter too: a firm quoting Eastern time while your platform runs on exchange time will differ during the weeks the two are out of step on daylight saving.
Key points
- A flatten deadline before the daily settle is standard, with an earlier one on Fridays.
- Positions open at the deadline are normally liquidated by the firm, sometimes with a penalty attached.
- Holiday and early-close schedules have their own deadlines that differ from the normal session.
- Confirm which time zone the rules use; Eastern and exchange time diverge for part of the year.
Also known as
- allowed trading hours
- trading window
- session times
- flatten time
Frequently asked questions
Can you hold prop firm positions overnight?
In futures, usually not — most firms require accounts to be flat before the daily settle. Some programs permit overnight and weekend holding as a premium feature, generally with a reduced position limit. It is worth filtering for if your strategy needs it.
What happens if I do not close before the deadline?
The firm's risk system normally flattens the position at market. You take whatever fill that produces, and some firms record the auto-liquidation as a rule violation, which can count toward account closure on repeat.
Put this into practice
Trading hours is described here as a plain-language educational definition. Firms, platforms, and account programs may apply different conditions or calculations. Verify the current official terms before using this definition to make an account decision.