Strategy library · Opening and session
Previous day high breakout backtest on NQ and ES futures
Previous day high breakout
Also called: prior day high breakout, yesterday's high low breakout, previous day high low strategy, buy when price trades above yesterday's regular-hours high, short when price trades below yesterday's regular-hours low
What happens if you buy NQ every time price trades above yesterday's regular-hours high?
What it is
This strategy goes long when price trades above yesterday's regular-session high and short when it trades below yesterday's low. It exits at 15:59 ET.
What it did
On NQ futures from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the previous day high breakout strategy took 449 trades on the session timeframe, won 51.5% of them and finished 2,022.00 points ($40,440 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. From 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 on NQ, the 261 long trades on the session timeframe won 55.6% and made 2,400.50 points ($48,010 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage. On ES futures from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, the previous day high breakout strategy took 449 trades on the session timeframe, won 49.4% of them and finished -602.50 points (-$30,125 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 previous day high breakout 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 when price trades above yesterday's RTH high; short when it trades below yesterday's low. 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 | 449 | 51.5% | 4.50 | 1.064 | 2,022.00 | $40,440 | 6,396.50 | 449 | 49.4% | −1.34 | 0.912 | −602.50 | −$30,125 | 1,020.75 |
| Session · longs only | 261 | 55.6% | — | — | 2,400.50 | $48,010 | 3,328.25 | 261 | 55.6% | — | — | −140.50 | −$7,025 | 527.00 |
| Session · shorts only | 188 | 45.7% | — | — | −378.50 | −$7,570 | 4,214.75 | 188 | 41.0% | — | — | −462.00 | −$23,100 | 753.00 |
Free to use with credit to CE Market Solutions (CC BY 4.0).
NQ session: the equity line
Long and short
| Side | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| Long | 261 | 2,400.50 |
| Short | 188 | −378.50 |
By month
| Month | Trades | Net pts |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-10 | 13 | 315.75 |
| 2024-11 | 16 | 48.50 |
| 2024-12 | 18 | 1,443.50 |
| 2025-01 | 20 | −531.75 |
| 2025-02 | 19 | 281.75 |
| 2025-03 | 19 | 126.00 |
| 2025-04 | 16 | 1,504.50 |
| 2025-05 | 18 | −1,562.50 |
| 2025-06 | 19 | −231.25 |
| 2025-07 | 20 | −830.75 |
| 2025-08 | 19 | 404.50 |
| 2025-09 | 20 | −236.25 |
| 2025-10 | 17 | −800.00 |
| 2025-11 | 17 | −840.50 |
| 2025-12 | 18 | 71.75 |
| 2026-01 | 19 | −607.50 |
| 2026-02 | 18 | −137.00 |
| 2026-03 | 21 | 409.75 |
| 2026-04 | 20 | 35.50 |
| 2026-05 | 21 | 1,111.25 |
| 2026-06 | 19 | 1,378.75 |
| 2026-07 | 20 | 882.00 |
| 2026-08 | 19 | −46.25 |
| 2026-09 | 18 | 128.75 |
| 2026-10 | 5 | −296.50 |
Every trade, NQ session449 trades
Pick any of the 449 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 (449), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-04 | long | 10:41 | 27917.25 | 15:59 | 27780.25 | end of day 15:59 | −137.00 |
| 2026-05-01 | long | 09:31 | 27665.50 | 15:59 | 27837.25 | end of day 15:59 | 171.75 |
| 2026-04-30 | long | 09:31 | 27436.75 | 15:59 | 27577.50 | end of day 15:59 | 140.75 |
| 2026-04-29 | long | 10:28 | 27253.50 | 15:59 | 27337.25 | end of day 15:59 | 83.75 |
| 2026-04-28 | short | 09:31 | 27090.50 | 15:59 | 27169.25 | end of day 15:59 | −78.75 |
| 2026-04-24 | long | 09:31 | 27187.50 | 15:59 | 27434.00 | end of day 15:59 | 246.50 |
| 2026-04-23 | long | 10:58 | 27105.75 | 15:59 | 26926.25 | end of day 15:59 | −179.50 |
| 2026-04-22 | long | 10:01 | 26886.75 | 15:59 | 27080.00 | end of day 15:59 | 193.25 |
| 2026-04-21 | long | 10:00 | 26838.75 | 15:59 | 26642.25 | end of day 15:59 | −196.50 |
| 2026-04-20 | short | 11:04 | 26618.25 | 15:59 | 26745.75 | end of day 15:59 | −127.50 |
| 2026-04-17 | long | 09:31 | 26687.50 | 15:59 | 26827.25 | end of day 15:59 | 139.75 |
| 2026-04-16 | long | 09:31 | 26395.75 | 15:59 | 26484.75 | end of day 15:59 | 89.00 |
| 2026-04-15 | long | 09:31 | 26020.25 | 15:59 | 26364.25 | end of day 15:59 | 344.00 |
| 2026-04-14 | long | 09:31 | 25689.00 | 15:59 | 26000.75 | end of day 15:59 | 311.75 |
| 2026-04-13 | short | 09:33 | 25203.25 | 15:59 | 25538.25 | end of day 15:59 | −335.00 |
| 2026-04-10 | long | 09:31 | 25326.25 | 15:59 | 25284.25 | end of day 15:59 | −42.00 |
| 2026-04-09 | long | 12:04 | 25255.00 | 15:59 | 25249.00 | end of day 15:59 | −6.00 |
| 2026-04-08 | long | 09:31 | 25184.25 | 15:59 | 25080.00 | end of day 15:59 | −104.25 |
| 2026-04-07 | short | 09:41 | 24199.75 | 15:59 | 24369.50 | end of day 15:59 | −169.75 |
| 2026-04-06 | long | 09:31 | 24329.00 | 15:59 | 24363.75 | end of day 15:59 | 34.75 |
| 2026-04-02 | short | 09:31 | 23795.00 | 15:59 | 24220.75 | end of day 15:59 | −425.75 |
| 2026-04-01 | long | 09:31 | 24083.75 | 15:59 | 24200.75 | end of day 15:59 | 117.00 |
| 2026-03-31 | long | 09:54 | 23541.75 | 15:59 | 23909.75 | end of day 15:59 | 368.00 |
| 2026-03-30 | short | 13:05 | 23264.00 | 15:59 | 23135.50 | end of day 15:59 | 128.50 |
| 2026-03-27 | short | 09:31 | 23646.25 | 15:59 | 23308.75 | end of day 15:59 | 337.50 |
| 2026-03-26 | short | 09:31 | 24106.75 | 15:59 | 23786.75 | end of day 15:59 | 320.00 |
| 2026-03-25 | long | 09:31 | 24455.75 | 15:59 | 24371.75 | end of day 15:59 | −84.00 |
| 2026-03-24 | short | 09:31 | 24264.25 | 15:59 | 24219.25 | end of day 15:59 | 45.00 |
| 2026-03-23 | long | 09:32 | 24493.50 | 15:59 | 24398.75 | end of day 15:59 | −94.75 |
| 2026-03-20 | short | 09:58 | 24317.50 | 15:59 | 24113.50 | end of day 15:59 | 204.00 |
| 2026-03-19 | short | 09:31 | 24372.00 | 15:59 | 24574.75 | end of day 15:59 | −202.75 |
| 2026-03-18 | short | 09:31 | 24923.50 | 15:59 | 24651.50 | end of day 15:59 | 272.00 |
| 2026-03-17 | long | 09:33 | 25059.25 | 15:59 | 25010.25 | end of day 15:59 | −49.00 |
| 2026-03-13 | short | 10:56 | 24527.00 | 15:59 | 24398.00 | end of day 15:59 | 129.00 |
| 2026-03-12 | short | 09:31 | 24781.00 | 15:59 | 24555.25 | end of day 15:59 | 225.75 |
| 2026-03-11 | short | 13:39 | 24883.50 | 15:59 | 24984.00 | end of day 15:59 | −100.50 |
| 2026-03-10 | long | 09:32 | 25062.25 | 15:59 | 24986.50 | end of day 15:59 | −75.75 |
| 2026-03-09 | short | 09:31 | 24510.50 | 15:59 | 24992.25 | end of day 15:59 | −481.75 |
| 2026-03-06 | short | 09:31 | 24682.25 | 15:59 | 24667.75 | end of day 15:59 | 14.50 |
| 2026-03-05 | short | 12:50 | 24813.00 | 15:59 | 25047.75 | end of day 15:59 | −234.75 |
| 2026-03-04 | long | 09:31 | 24933.75 | 15:59 | 25120.00 | end of day 15:59 | 186.25 |
| 2026-03-03 | short | 09:32 | 24599.50 | 15:59 | 24757.25 | end of day 15:59 | −157.75 |
| 2026-03-02 | short | 09:31 | 24683.50 | 15:59 | 25023.25 | end of day 15:59 | −339.75 |
| 2026-02-27 | short | 09:31 | 24828.50 | 15:59 | 24998.25 | end of day 15:59 | −169.75 |
| 2026-02-26 | short | 10:02 | 25144.50 | 15:59 | 25083.25 | end of day 15:59 | 61.25 |
| 2026-02-25 | long | 09:31 | 25211.75 | 15:59 | 25384.50 | end of day 15:59 | 172.75 |
| 2026-02-24 | long | 11:14 | 25045.25 | 15:59 | 25030.00 | end of day 15:59 | −15.25 |
| 2026-02-23 | short | 11:13 | 24674.25 | 15:59 | 24768.00 | end of day 15:59 | −93.75 |
| 2026-02-20 | short | 09:31 | 24725.00 | 15:59 | 25074.75 | end of day 15:59 | −349.75 |
| 2026-02-18 | long | 09:56 | 24904.75 | 15:59 | 24957.50 | end of day 15:59 | 52.75 |
Questions and answers
What happens if you buy NQ every time price trades above yesterday's regular-hours high?
From 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07 on the NQ session timeframe, the previous day high breakout strategy took 261 long trades, won 55.6% of them and made 2,400.50 points ($48,010 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
What happens if you short ES every time price trades below yesterday's regular-hours low?
From 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27 on the ES session timeframe, the previous day high breakout strategy took 188 short trades, won 41.0% of them and made -462.00 points (-$23,100 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage.
Does the previous day high breakout strategy work on Nasdaq futures?
On NQ futures from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the previous day high breakout strategy on the session timeframe took 449 trades, won 51.5% of them and finished 2,022.00 points ($40,440 on one NQ contract), before commission and slippage.
What is the win rate of Previous day high breakout on ES futures?
The previous day high breakout strategy won 49.4% of its 449 trades on the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, before commission and slippage.
Is it better to only buy or only sell previous day high breakout signals on NQ?
On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the long trades made 2,400.50 points on 261 trades (55.6% won) and the short trades made -378.50 points on 188 trades (45.7% won), before commission and slippage.
How many trades does the previous day high breakout strategy take on NQ in two years?
The previous day high breakout strategy took 449 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 previous day high breakout strategy on NQ?
The previous day high breakout strategy had a max drawdown of 6,396.50 points ($127,930 on one NQ contract) on the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, before commission and slippage.
How does the previous day high breakout strategy do on ES compared with NQ?
On the ES session timeframe from 2024-08-28 to 2026-08-27, the previous day high breakout strategy took 449 trades, won 49.4% of them and made -602.50 points (-$30,125 on one ES contract), before commission and slippage. On the NQ session timeframe from 2024-10-08 to 2026-10-07, the previous day high breakout strategy took 449 trades, won 51.5% of them and made 2,022.00 points ($40,440 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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