Strategy library · Opening and session
Buy the open, sell the close backtest on NQ and ES futures
Buy the open, sell the close
Also called: buy the open sell the close, open to close strategy, intraday buy and hold
What happens if you buy NQ every time the regular session opens at 09:30 and you exit at 15:59?
What it is
This strategy goes long at the 09:30 ET open every day. It exits at the 15:59 ET close.
What it did
On NQ futures from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the buy the open, sell the close strategy took 515 trades on the session timeframe, won 53.0% of them and finished 2,657.75 points ($53,155 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. On ES futures from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, the buy the open, sell the close strategy took 515 trades on the session timeframe, won 52.2% of them and finished 373.75 points ($18,688 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 open, sell the close 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 09:30 every day. Exit: Exit at 15:59.
| 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 | 515 | 53.0% | 5.16 | 1.062 | 2,657.75 | $53,155 | 4,120.75 | 515 | 52.2% | 0.73 | 1.044 | 373.75 | $18,688 | 649.75 |
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 | 515 | 373.75 |
| Short | 0 | — |
By month
| Month | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-08 | 3 | −21.75 |
| 2024-09 | 21 | −76.50 |
| 2024-10 | 23 | −103.00 |
| 2024-11 | 21 | 113.00 |
| 2024-12 | 21 | −148.50 |
| 2025-01 | 21 | −53.75 |
| 2025-02 | 20 | −11.75 |
| 2025-03 | 21 | −123.50 |
| 2025-04 | 21 | 363.75 |
| 2025-05 | 22 | 166.75 |
| 2025-06 | 21 | 98.25 |
| 2025-07 | 23 | −24.50 |
| 2025-08 | 21 | 72.00 |
| 2025-09 | 22 | 113.25 |
| 2025-10 | 23 | −164.75 |
| 2025-11 | 20 | −38.50 |
| 2025-12 | 22 | −73.50 |
| 2026-01 | 21 | 54.75 |
| 2026-02 | 20 | −9.25 |
| 2026-03 | 22 | −157.25 |
| 2026-04 | 21 | 481.00 |
| 2026-05 | 21 | 270.00 |
| 2026-06 | 22 | −316.00 |
| 2026-07 | 23 | −44.00 |
| 2026-08 | 19 | 7.50 |
Every trade, ES session515 trades
Pick any of the 515 charted trades with Previous, Next or a date, or click a row in the trades table below, to see it drawn on the real 1-minute bars. Drag the chart sideways to move through the sessions around it.
Chart unavailable. The trades are in the table below.
All trades (515), newest first
Times are New York time; points are gross. Click a row to draw that trade in the chart above.
| Session date | Side | Entry (ET) | Entry price | Exit (ET) | Exit price | Exit reason | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09-17 | long | 09:30 | 5722.00 | 15:59 | 5702.00 | end of day 15:59 | −20.00 |
| 2024-09-16 | long | 09:30 | 5627.75 | 15:59 | 5639.00 | end of day 15:59 | 11.25 |
| 2024-09-13 | long | 09:30 | 5607.75 | 15:59 | 5630.00 | end of day 15:59 | 22.25 |
| 2024-09-12 | long | 09:30 | 5562.75 | 15:59 | 5603.50 | end of day 15:59 | 40.75 |
| 2024-09-11 | long | 09:30 | 5500.50 | 15:59 | 5556.75 | end of day 15:59 | 56.25 |
| 2024-09-10 | long | 09:30 | 5498.25 | 15:59 | 5502.00 | end of day 15:59 | 3.75 |
| 2024-09-09 | long | 09:30 | 5462.00 | 15:59 | 5479.50 | end of day 15:59 | 17.50 |
| 2024-09-06 | long | 09:30 | 5515.50 | 15:59 | 5420.50 | end of day 15:59 | −95.00 |
| 2024-09-05 | long | 09:30 | 5528.25 | 15:59 | 5515.00 | end of day 15:59 | −13.25 |
| 2024-09-04 | long | 09:30 | 5522.75 | 15:59 | 5528.00 | end of day 15:59 | 5.25 |
| 2024-09-03 | long | 09:30 | 5626.25 | 15:59 | 5543.25 | end of day 15:59 | −83.00 |
| 2024-09-02 | long | 09:30 | 5657.00 | 12:59 | 5665.00 | early close | 8.00 |
| 2024-08-30 | long | 09:30 | 5631.25 | 15:59 | 5658.25 | end of day 15:59 | 27.00 |
| 2024-08-29 | long | 09:30 | 5630.50 | 15:59 | 5610.25 | end of day 15:59 | −20.25 |
| 2024-08-28 | long | 09:30 | 5640.00 | 15:59 | 5611.50 | end of day 15:59 | −28.50 |
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Questions and answers
What happens if you buy NQ every time the regular session opens at 09:30 and you exit at 15:59?
From 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 on the NQ session timeframe, the buy the open, sell the close strategy took 515 long trades, won 53.0% of them and made 2,657.75 points ($53,155 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
Does the buy the open, sell the close strategy work on Nasdaq futures?
On NQ futures from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the buy the open, sell the close strategy on the session timeframe took 515 trades, won 53.0% of them and finished 2,657.75 points ($53,155 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
What is the win rate of Buy the open, sell the close on ES futures?
The buy the open, sell the close strategy won 52.2% of its 515 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 open, sell the close strategy take on NQ in two years?
The buy the open, sell the close strategy took 515 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 open, sell the close strategy on NQ?
The buy the open, sell the close strategy had a max drawdown of 4,120.75 points ($82,415 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 open, sell the close strategy do on ES compared with NQ?
On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, the buy the open, sell the close strategy took 515 trades, won 52.2% of them and made 373.75 points ($18,688 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the buy the open, sell the close strategy took 515 trades, won 53.0% of them and made 2,657.75 points ($53,155 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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