NQ futures roll dates and holiday hours: 2026-2027 calendar
Short answer. Our next NQ roll week, when we take no new entries, is December 7 to 11, 2026, before the December contract expires on Friday, December 18. The next holiday schedule is Thanksgiving: NQ halts at 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 26, reopens at 6:00 p.m., and closes early at 1:15 p.m. ET on Friday, November 27.
This page lists our NQ roll weeks and every expiry and holiday session from November 2026 to December 2027, and what our signals do on each one.
The calendar
| Date (2026-2027) | Event | What happens to NQ (ET) | What STS does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu Nov 26 to Fri Nov 27, 2026 | Thanksgiving | Thu: halts 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. Fri: closes 1:15 p.m. | No new entries either day |
| Mon Dec 7 to Fri Dec 11, 2026 | STS roll week (December) | Normal hours. December contract (NQZ26) expires the next Friday | No new entries Monday to Friday |
| Fri Dec 18, 2026 | December expiry | NQZ26 stops trading at 9:30 a.m. and settles in cash. March (NQH27) is next | Normal rules |
| Thu Dec 24 to Fri Dec 25, 2026 | Christmas | Thu: closes 1:15 p.m. Fri: closed. Reopens Sun Dec 27, 6:00 p.m. | No new entries either day |
| Fri Jan 1, 2027 | New Year's Day | Closed. Reopens Sun Jan 3, 6:00 p.m. | No new entries |
| Mon Jan 18, 2027 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Halts 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. | No new entries |
| Mon Feb 15, 2027 | Presidents Day | Halts 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. | No new entries |
| Mon Mar 8 to Fri Mar 12, 2027 | STS roll week (March) | Normal hours. NQH27 expires the next Friday | No new entries Monday to Friday |
| Fri Mar 19, 2027 | March expiry | NQH27 stops trading at 9:30 a.m. June (NQM27) is next | Normal rules |
| Fri Mar 26, 2027 | Good Friday | Closed. Thursday closes normally. Reopens Sun Mar 28, 6:00 p.m. | No new entries |
| Mon May 31, 2027 | Memorial Day | Halts 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. | No new entries |
| Mon Jun 7 to Fri Jun 11, 2027 | STS roll week (June) | Normal hours. NQM27 expires the next week | No new entries Monday to Friday |
| Thu Jun 17, 2027 | June expiry, one day early | CME lists Thursday as NQM27's last trading day; Friday is the Juneteenth holiday. September (NQU27) is next | Normal rules |
| Fri Jun 18, 2027 | Juneteenth | Trades until 1:00 p.m., then closed until Sun Jun 20, 6:00 p.m. | No new entries |
| Fri Jul 2 and Mon Jul 5, 2027 | Independence Day (observed Mon Jul 5) | Fri: normal session. Mon: halts 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. | No new entries either day |
| Mon Sep 6 to Fri Sep 10, 2027 | STS roll week (September); Monday is Labor Day | Mon: halts 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. NQU27 expires the next Friday | No new entries Monday to Friday |
| Fri Sep 17, 2027 | September expiry | NQU27 stops trading at 9:30 a.m. December (NQZ27) is next | Normal rules |
| Thu Nov 25 to Fri Nov 26, 2027 | Thanksgiving | Thu: halts 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. Fri: closes 1:15 p.m. | No new entries either day |
| Mon Dec 6 to Fri Dec 10, 2027 | STS roll week (December) | Normal hours. NQZ27 expires the next Friday | No new entries Monday to Friday |
| Fri Dec 17, 2027 | December expiry | NQZ27 stops trading at 9:30 a.m. March 2028 (NQH28) is next | Normal rules |
| Fri Dec 24, 2027 | Christmas (observed) | Closed. Thursday closes normally. Reopens Sun Dec 26, 6:00 p.m. | No new entries |
Times are Eastern. Holiday hours are CME's published schedule as of October 8, 2026; CME says it usually finalizes them about two weeks before each holiday, so check its holiday page that week. "No new entries" on a holiday means none on that calendar date and none in the evening session that opens at 6:00 p.m. the day before.
How expiry and the roll work
CME's rule for E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures is that "trading terminates at 9:30 a.m. ET on the 3rd Friday of the contract month," in March, June, September and December. The contract settles in cash. June 2027 is the exception in this window: the third Friday, June 18, is the Juneteenth holiday, and CME lists Thursday, June 17 as the last trading day.
Before a contract expires, traders who want to stay in the market move to the next quarter's contract. That switch is the roll. Our roll week is a fixed rule in the strategy: the Monday-to-Friday week containing the second Thursday of each contract month. In every quarter on this calendar, that is the week before expiry week. The book takes no new entries on those five days.
In our hypothetical backtest, 43 of the 60 roll weeks from 2011 to 2026 sent no signal, against 2 of the 721 other weeks. Each of the other 17 roll weeks shows one signal, entered on Sunday evening, between 6:15 and 6:25 p.m., before the Monday halt began. Our first live roll week, September 7 to 11, 2026, sent none.
How holidays work
CME's equity holiday hours follow three patterns:
- Monday holidays (Martin Luther King Jr., Presidents, Memorial, Independence observed, Labor): NQ opens Sunday evening as usual, halts at 1:00 p.m. ET Monday, and reopens at 6:00 p.m. for Tuesday's session.
- Full closures (Christmas, New Year's Day, Good Friday 2027): no trading that day; the market reopens Sunday at 6:00 p.m.
- Thanksgiving and short days: a 1:00 p.m. halt Thursday and a 1:15 p.m. close Friday; Christmas Eve 2026 also closes at 1:15 p.m.; Juneteenth 2027 trades until 1:00 p.m.
Our book takes no new entries on any of these dates. Over the hypothetical backtest's 139 US market holidays and 33 half-days (the day after Thanksgiving, plus Christmas Eve and July 3 when they fall on a regular trading weekday) from August 2011 to August 2026, 0 of its 3,500 signals were entered on one of those dates.
What this means for you
- Expect a quiet roll week. December 7 to 11, 2026 will most likely bring no signal, as 43 of 60 roll weeks did in the backtest. It is the book working as designed, not a fault.
- Expect no signals on holiday dates. Holiday sessions and half-days are skipped entirely, so there is nothing to watch for on Thanksgiving, Christmas or a Monday holiday.
- Mind the June 2027 expiry. If you trade the contract yourself, the June 2027 contract stops trading on Thursday, June 17, a day earlier than the usual third Friday.
For how many signals a normal week brings, and how long a quiet stretch can run, see how often NQ signals fire.
For the point value, tick value and trading hours of the contract itself, see NQ futures contract specs.
STS sends signals from a five-strategy NQ futures book, with every live signal dated on a public forward record.
Sources
- CME Group, E-mini Nasdaq-100 contract specifications (termination of trading, settlement method, Globex hours): cmegroup.com/markets/equities/nasdaq/e-mini-nasdaq-100.contractSpecs.html, checked October 8, 2026.
- CME Group, E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures calendar (last trading day of NQZ26, NQH27, NQM27, NQU27, NQZ27): cmegroup.com/markets/equities/nasdaq/e-mini-nasdaq-100.calendar.html, checked October 8, 2026.
- CME Group, Holiday and Trading Hours, E-mini Nasdaq-100 holiday schedules and 2026-2027 holiday notes: cmegroup.com/trading-hours.html, checked October 8, 2026. CME publishes times in Central Time; we add one hour for Eastern.
- STS: our backtest of the five-strategy book dated August 5, 2026, 3,500 round trips from August 11, 2011 to August 5, 2026, and our public forward record. All backtest figures are hypothetical. Market holidays and half-days are counted by the standard US exchange observance rules.
Hypothetical Performance Disclaimer (CFTC Rule 4.41): These results are based on simulated or hypothetical performance results that have certain inherent limitations. Unlike the results shown in an actual performance record, these results do not represent actual trading. Also, because these trades have not actually been executed, these results may have under- or over-compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated or hypothetical trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to these being shown.
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors.