Strategy library · Opening and session
Buy the close, sell the next open backtest on NQ and ES futures
Buy the close, sell the next open
Also called: overnight strategy, overnight hold strategy, close to open strategy
What happens if you buy NQ every time the 15:59 close arrives and you exit at the next 09:30 open?
What it is
This strategy goes long at 15:59 ET every day. It exits at the next 09:30 ET open.
What it did
On NQ futures from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the buy the close, sell the next open strategy took 514 trades on the session timeframe, won 54.1% of them and finished 5,293.25 points ($105,865 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. On ES futures from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, the buy the close, sell the next open strategy took 514 trades on the session timeframe, won 58.0% of them and finished 1,077.75 points ($53,888 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. This strategy was tested on the session timeframe only; the NQ trades are listed on this page and the ES trades under the ES tab.
How it was tested
CE Market Solutions tested the buy the close, sell the next open strategy on NQ (2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07) and ES (2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27) futures, 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; the NQ trades are listed on this page and the ES trades under the ES tab.
See it tested with one change · $19
Tested by CE Market Solutions on 2026-10-26. The trades are listed below, one market at a time. Gross, no commission or slippage. Last 2 years.
Results
Rule as tested: Long at 15:59 every day. Exit: Exit at the next 09:30 open.
| Timeframe | NQ · 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 | ES · 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trades | Win % | Avg pts | Profit factor | Net pts | Net $ (1 NQ) | Max DD pts | Trades | Win % | Avg pts | Profit factor | Net pts | Net $ (1 ES) | Max DD pts | |
| Session | 514 | 54.1% | 10.30 | 1.151 | 5,293.25 | $105,865 | 4,340.50 | 514 | 58.0% | 2.10 | 1.170 | 1,077.75 | $53,888 | 1,045.75 |
Free to use with credit to CE Market Solutions (CC BY 4.0).
ES session: the equity line
Long and short
| Side | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| Long | 514 | 1,077.75 |
| Short | 0 | — |
By month
| Month | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-08 | 3 | 38.00 |
| 2024-09 | 21 | 177.00 |
| 2024-10 | 23 | 43.50 |
| 2024-11 | 21 | 202.00 |
| 2024-12 | 21 | −26.00 |
| 2025-01 | 21 | 69.75 |
| 2025-02 | 20 | 24.75 |
| 2025-03 | 21 | −300.25 |
| 2025-04 | 21 | −413.75 |
| 2025-05 | 22 | 77.25 |
| 2025-06 | 21 | 188.00 |
| 2025-07 | 23 | 95.75 |
| 2025-08 | 21 | 97.00 |
| 2025-09 | 22 | 62.25 |
| 2025-10 | 23 | 365.75 |
| 2025-11 | 20 | −32.50 |
| 2025-12 | 22 | 142.50 |
| 2026-01 | 21 | −34.50 |
| 2026-02 | 20 | −126.00 |
| 2026-03 | 22 | −115.75 |
| 2026-04 | 21 | 185.75 |
| 2026-05 | 21 | 55.50 |
| 2026-06 | 22 | 114.50 |
| 2026-07 | 23 | 22.00 |
| 2026-08 | 18 | 165.25 |
Every trade, ES session514 trades
No trade of this result has a chart.
All trades (514), newest first
Times are New York time; points are gross.
| Session date | Side | Entry (ET) | Entry price | Exit (ET) | Exit price | Exit reason | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-26 | long | 15:59 | 7692.00 | 09:30 | 7716.25 | next open 0930 | 24.25 |
| 2026-08-25 | long | 15:59 | 7693.00 | 09:30 | 7678.75 | next open 0930 | −14.25 |
| 2026-08-24 | long | 15:59 | 7673.00 | 09:30 | 7695.00 | next open 0930 | 22.00 |
| 2026-08-21 | long | 15:59 | 7696.50 | 09:30 | 7681.75 | next open 0930 | −14.75 |
| 2026-08-20 | long | 15:59 | 7663.75 | 09:30 | 7695.75 | next open 0930 | 32.00 |
| 2026-08-19 | long | 15:59 | 7728.50 | 09:30 | 7698.00 | next open 0930 | −30.50 |
| 2026-08-18 | long | 15:59 | 7715.25 | 09:30 | 7743.50 | next open 0930 | 28.25 |
| 2026-08-17 | long | 15:59 | 7770.50 | 09:30 | 7726.25 | next open 0930 | −44.25 |
| 2026-08-14 | long | 15:59 | 7802.75 | 09:30 | 7803.00 | next open 0930 | 0.25 |
| 2026-08-13 | long | 15:59 | 7821.50 | 09:30 | 7827.75 | next open 0930 | 6.25 |
| 2026-08-12 | long | 15:59 | 7768.25 | 09:30 | 7793.25 | next open 0930 | 25.00 |
| 2026-08-11 | long | 15:59 | 7748.50 | 09:30 | 7791.75 | next open 0930 | 43.25 |
| 2026-08-10 | long | 15:59 | 7774.00 | 09:30 | 7791.75 | next open 0930 | 17.75 |
| 2026-08-07 | long | 15:59 | 7783.00 | 09:30 | 7773.00 | next open 0930 | −10.00 |
| 2026-08-06 | long | 15:59 | 7738.25 | 09:30 | 7757.25 | next open 0930 | 19.00 |
| 2026-08-05 | long | 15:59 | 7760.50 | 09:30 | 7752.00 | next open 0930 | −8.50 |
| 2026-08-04 | long | 15:59 | 7768.00 | 09:30 | 7809.75 | next open 0930 | 41.75 |
| 2026-08-03 | long | 15:59 | 7629.75 | 09:30 | 7657.50 | next open 0930 | 27.75 |
| 2026-07-31 | long | 15:59 | 7533.25 | 09:30 | 7546.25 | next open 0930 | 13.00 |
| 2026-07-30 | long | 15:59 | 7470.25 | 09:30 | 7499.00 | next open 0930 | 28.75 |
| 2026-07-29 | long | 15:59 | 7351.25 | 09:30 | 7414.50 | next open 0930 | 63.25 |
| 2026-07-28 | long | 15:59 | 7468.75 | 09:30 | 7456.25 | next open 0930 | −12.50 |
| 2026-07-27 | long | 15:59 | 7447.75 | 09:30 | 7449.75 | next open 0930 | 2.00 |
| 2026-07-24 | long | 15:59 | 7444.00 | 09:30 | 7507.75 | next open 0930 | 63.75 |
| 2026-07-23 | long | 15:59 | 7446.50 | 09:30 | 7444.00 | next open 0930 | −2.50 |
| 2026-07-22 | long | 15:59 | 7542.75 | 09:30 | 7453.50 | next open 0930 | −89.25 |
| 2026-07-21 | long | 15:59 | 7545.50 | 09:30 | 7527.75 | next open 0930 | −17.75 |
| 2026-07-20 | long | 15:59 | 7484.75 | 09:30 | 7526.00 | next open 0930 | 41.25 |
| 2026-07-17 | long | 15:59 | 7505.00 | 09:30 | 7534.50 | next open 0930 | 29.50 |
| 2026-07-16 | long | 15:59 | 7573.75 | 09:30 | 7485.25 | next open 0930 | −88.50 |
| 2026-07-15 | long | 15:59 | 7615.25 | 09:30 | 7597.00 | next open 0930 | −18.25 |
| 2026-07-14 | long | 15:59 | 7593.00 | 09:30 | 7612.50 | next open 0930 | 19.50 |
| 2026-07-13 | long | 15:59 | 7568.00 | 09:30 | 7579.50 | next open 0930 | 11.50 |
| 2026-07-10 | long | 15:59 | 7620.50 | 09:30 | 7595.50 | next open 0930 | −25.00 |
| 2026-07-09 | long | 15:59 | 7586.75 | 09:30 | 7592.25 | next open 0930 | 5.50 |
| 2026-07-08 | long | 15:59 | 7534.25 | 09:30 | 7546.75 | next open 0930 | 12.50 |
| 2026-07-07 | long | 15:59 | 7555.00 | 09:30 | 7507.00 | next open 0930 | −48.00 |
| 2026-07-06 | long | 15:59 | 7592.00 | 09:30 | 7580.75 | next open 0930 | −11.25 |
| 2026-07-03 | long | 12:59 | 7557.25 | 09:30 | 7564.75 | next open 0930 | 7.50 |
| 2026-07-02 | long | 15:59 | 7531.50 | 09:30 | 7554.75 | next open 0930 | 23.25 |
| 2026-07-01 | long | 15:59 | 7541.50 | 09:30 | 7555.25 | next open 0930 | 13.75 |
| 2026-06-30 | long | 15:59 | 7556.50 | 09:30 | 7532.25 | next open 0930 | −24.25 |
| 2026-06-29 | long | 15:59 | 7499.00 | 09:30 | 7500.00 | next open 0930 | 1.00 |
| 2026-06-26 | long | 15:59 | 7427.75 | 09:30 | 7457.25 | next open 0930 | 29.50 |
| 2026-06-25 | long | 15:59 | 7414.75 | 09:30 | 7380.75 | next open 0930 | −34.00 |
| 2026-06-24 | long | 15:59 | 7418.75 | 09:30 | 7485.75 | next open 0930 | 67.00 |
| 2026-06-23 | long | 15:59 | 7443.50 | 09:30 | 7447.25 | next open 0930 | 3.75 |
| 2026-06-22 | long | 15:59 | 7540.25 | 09:30 | 7429.50 | next open 0930 | −110.75 |
| 2026-06-19 | long | 12:59 | 7557.50 | 09:30 | 7573.25 | next open 0930 | 15.75 |
| 2026-06-18 | long | 15:59 | 7578.00 | 09:30 | 7559.00 | next open 0930 | −19.00 |
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Questions and answers
What happens if you buy NQ every time the 15:59 close arrives and you exit at the next 09:30 open?
From 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 on the NQ session timeframe, the buy the close, sell the next open strategy took 514 long trades, won 54.1% of them and made 5,293.25 points ($105,865 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
Does the buy the close, sell the next open strategy work on Nasdaq futures?
On NQ futures from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the buy the close, sell the next open strategy on the session timeframe took 514 trades, won 54.1% of them and finished 5,293.25 points ($105,865 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
What is the win rate of Buy the close, sell the next open on ES futures?
The buy the close, sell the next open strategy won 58.0% of its 514 trades on the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, before commission and slippage.
How many trades does the buy the close, sell the next open strategy take on NQ in two years?
The buy the close, sell the next open strategy took 514 trades on the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, before commission and slippage.
What is the max drawdown of the buy the close, sell the next open strategy on NQ?
The buy the close, sell the next open strategy had a max drawdown of 4,340.50 points ($86,810 on one NQ contract) on the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, before commission and slippage.
How does the buy the close, sell the next open strategy do on ES compared with NQ?
On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, the buy the close, sell the next open strategy took 514 trades, won 58.0% of them and made 1,077.75 points ($53,888 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the buy the close, sell the next open strategy took 514 trades, won 54.1% of them and made 5,293.25 points ($105,865 on one NQ 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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