Strategy library · Comparison
Opening range breakout: 5, 15 and 30 minutes on NQ and ES futures: 2-year backtest side by side
Opening range breakout: 5, 15 and 30 minutes on NQ and ES futures, side by side. The table below holds Opening range breakout, 5 minutes, Opening range breakout, 15 minutes and Opening range breakout, 30 minutes at the timeframes they have in common, one row per strategy, ordered by market and then timeframe. No row is ordered by a result, and nothing on this page names one strategy over another: the figures are the figures.
Tested by CE Market Solutions on 2026-10-26. Gross, no commission or slippage. Last 2 years.
Opening range breakouts
Opening range breakouts, NQ 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 and ES 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, one contract, before commission and slippage.
| Market | Timeframe | Strategy | Trades | Win % | Net pts | Net $ (1 contract) | Max DD pts | Long trades | Long net pts | Short trades | Short net pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NQ | Session | Opening range breakout, 5 minutes | 515 | 35.7% | 3,513.50 | $70,270 | 3,113.75 | 253 | 2,572.50 | 262 | 941.00 |
| NQ | Session | Opening range breakout, 15 minutes | 514 | 43.8% | 2,415.75 | $48,315 | 4,775.25 | 264 | 2,928.00 | 250 | −512.25 |
| NQ | Session | Opening range breakout, 30 minutes | 509 | 49.1% | 493.00 | $9,860 | 4,810.00 | 271 | 2,276.50 | 238 | −1,783.50 |
| ES | Session | Opening range breakout, 5 minutes | 515 | 29.5% | −99.75 | −$4,987 | 816.75 | 248 | −181.25 | 267 | 81.50 |
| ES | Session | Opening range breakout, 15 minutes | 514 | 41.4% | 503.75 | $25,188 | 605.75 | 271 | 70.25 | 243 | 433.50 |
| ES | Session | Opening range breakout, 30 minutes | 512 | 46.1% | 168.50 | $8,425 | 607.50 | 280 | −138.25 | 232 | 306.75 |
The figures in words
Opening range breakout, 5 minutes: buys when price first breaks above the high of the 09:30-09:35 ET opening range, sells short when price first breaks below the low of the 09:30-09:35 ET opening range. Exit: Stop at the other side of the range, exit at 15:59.
Opening range breakout, 15 minutes: buys when price first breaks above the high of the 09:30-09:45 ET opening range, sells short when price first breaks below the low of the 09:30-09:45 ET opening range. Exit: Stop at the other side, exit at 15:59.
Opening range breakout, 30 minutes: buys when price first breaks above the high of the 09:30-10:00 ET opening range, sells short when price first breaks below the low of the 09:30-10:00 ET opening range. Exit: Stop at the other side, exit at 15:59.
On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, Opening range breakout, 5 minutes took 515 trades, won 35.7% of them and made 3,513.50 points ($70,270 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, Opening range breakout, 15 minutes took 514 trades, won 43.8% of them and made 2,415.75 points ($48,315 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, Opening range breakout, 30 minutes took 509 trades, won 49.1% of them and made 493.00 points ($9,860 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, Opening range breakout, 5 minutes took 515 trades, won 29.5% of them and made -99.75 points (-$4,987 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, Opening range breakout, 15 minutes took 514 trades, won 41.4% of them and made 503.75 points ($25,188 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, Opening range breakout, 30 minutes took 512 trades, won 46.1% of them and made 168.50 points ($8,425 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage.
How to read the columns: Trades is the number of closed trades; Win % is the share of them that finished above zero points; Net pts is the sum of every trade's points; Net $ is net points times the contract's dollars per point, on one contract; Max DD pts is the largest fall of the running total of points from a peak. The longs-only and shorts-only columns are sums over that side's own trades, and the two sides add up to the strategy's combined result.
CE Market Solutions tested every strategy on the last 2 years of NQ and ES futures (NQ 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 and ES 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27), before commission and slippage, with each signal filled at the next bar's open, intraday positions flat at 15:59 ET and textbook default indicator settings. Nothing is tuned.
Questions and answers
How do Opening range breakout, 5 minutes, Opening range breakout, 15 minutes and Opening range breakout, 30 minutes compare on Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ)?
On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, Opening range breakout, 5 minutes took 515 trades, won 35.7% of them and made 3,513.50 points ($70,270 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, Opening range breakout, 15 minutes took 514 trades, won 43.8% of them and made 2,415.75 points ($48,315 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, Opening range breakout, 30 minutes took 509 trades, won 49.1% of them and made 493.00 points ($9,860 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
How do Opening range breakout, 5 minutes, Opening range breakout, 15 minutes and Opening range breakout, 30 minutes compare on S&P 500 futures (ES)?
On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, Opening range breakout, 5 minutes took 515 trades, won 29.5% of them and made -99.75 points (-$4,987 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, Opening range breakout, 15 minutes took 514 trades, won 41.4% of them and made 503.75 points ($25,188 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, Opening range breakout, 30 minutes took 512 trades, won 46.1% of them and made 168.50 points ($8,425 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage.
How these were run
- Gross: no commission and no slippage.
- The last 2 years of each market, from the first to the last session of its window.
- A signal on a closed bar fills at the next bar’s open.
- A stop and a target touched in the same minute count as the stop.
- Intraday positions are flat at 15:59 ET.
- Textbook TradingView default settings for every indicator; nothing is tuned.
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