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QQQ Trading Hours: Regular, Extended and Options Hours
When QQQ trades: the regular session, pre-market and after-hours, why QQQ options can trade until 4:15 pm ET, and how to mark the sessions on a chart.
QQQ, the Invesco QQQ Trust that tracks the Nasdaq-100, trades like a stock, so its hours follow US equity sessions. QQQ options follow a slightly different clock. Traders in other time zones, and anyone mixing QQQ with Nasdaq futures, get caught by the gaps. Here are the sessions in Eastern Time and how to keep them straight on a chart.
The sessions in Eastern Time
- Pre-market: from 4:00 am ET at brokers that offer the full window; some start later.
- Regular session: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm ET.
- After-hours: 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm ET at most brokers.
- Overnight: some brokers offer an overnight session for popular ETFs such as QQQ. Check whether yours does, and how it fills.
QQQ options hours
Options on a handful of broad ETFs, QQQ among them, keep trading for fifteen minutes after the stock market closes, until 4:15 pm ET. On expiration day, the expiring contracts stop trading at 4:00 pm ET, while later expirations continue to 4:15 pm. Exercise decisions can still be submitted after the close, which is why an option can end up in the money on after-hours moves. Your broker's cut-off times are the ones that apply to you.
Why the hours matter on a chart
A chart that mixes extended hours with the regular session draws different highs, lows and averages. Session VWAP, opening range levels and the prior day's high and low all depend on which session you include. Decide which one your trading rules use and keep it fixed.
QQQ versus NQ
NQ, the E-mini Nasdaq-100 future, trades from Sunday 6:00 pm to Friday 5:00 pm ET with a daily one-hour break at 5:00 pm. QQQ moves with it, but QQQ has no regular-session price overnight. Traders who use NQ levels for QQQ entries usually scale the level by the ratio between the two at the open; ES vs SPY vs NQ: Futures and ETFs Compared explains the relationship.
Marking sessions in MyLinedChart
MyLinedChart lets each chart pane use its own time zone, so a trader in Europe or Asia can keep Eastern Time on the QQQ pane and local time elsewhere. Draw the prior session's high and low as levels, and the app keeps them with their exact prices for export or for an AI app connected to the chart. Educational only; check holiday schedules with your broker.
FAQ
What time does QQQ open and close?
The regular session runs 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern Time on US trading days.
Can I trade QQQ after 4 pm?
Yes, in after-hours until 8:00 pm ET at most brokers, and overnight at brokers that offer it.
What time do QQQ options stop trading?
Generally 4:15 pm ET. Contracts expiring that day stop at 4:00 pm ET.
Why did QQQ trade after 4 pm when the market was closed?
The after-hours session, which runs until 8:00 pm ET at most brokers. Prices there come from thinner trading and can gap at the next open.
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