RTY futures trading hours
When E-mini and Micro E-mini Russell 2000 futures trade on CME Globex, with limits and expiry dates.
- Globex session
- Sun 6:00 p.m. to Fri 5:00 p.m. ET
- Daily break
- 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET
- Contract size
- RTY $50, M2K $5 × the index
- Next expiry
- Fri, Dec 18, 2026
RTY futures trading hours on CME Globex run from Sunday 6:00 p.m. to Friday 5:00 p.m. ET, with a one-hour break every weekday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. The Micro E-mini Russell 2000 (M2K) trades the same hours. Price limits change during the day, and an expiring contract stops trading at the 9:30 a.m. ET stock market open on the third Friday of March, June, September and December.
RTY and M2K session times in ET, CT, PT and UTC
The E-mini Russell 2000 (RTY) is a futures contract on the Russell 2000 Index, the benchmark of about 2,000 small US companies. CME sets its hours in US Central Time (CT). A trading day starts at the evening open, so the session that opens on Monday at 6:00 p.m. ET counts as Tuesday.
| Session | ET | CT | PT | UTC (US daylight time) | UTC (US standard time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly open, Sunday | 6:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 22:00 | 23:00 |
| US stock market open | 9:30 a.m. | 8:30 a.m. | 6:30 a.m. | 13:30 | 14:30 |
| US stock market close | 4:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m. | 20:00 | 21:00 |
| Daily break, Monday to Thursday | 5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. | 21:00–22:00 | 22:00–23:00 |
| Weekly close, Friday | 5:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 21:00 | 22:00 |
RTY keeps trading for an hour after the 4:00 p.m. ET stock close. From Friday 5:00 p.m. to Sunday 6:00 p.m. ET, 49 hours, it does not trade. US clocks go back on Sunday, November 1, 2026, so from that week the open and the break come one hour later in UTC. Every product group's hours are on our futures market hours page.
RTY vs M2K: the contract facts
The Micro E-mini Russell 2000 is one tenth of the E-mini. Both settle in cash: no shares change hands, and open positions are paid out at a special opening quotation of the index.
| Fact | E-mini Russell 2000 (RTY) | Micro E-mini Russell 2000 (M2K) |
|---|---|---|
| Contract value | $50 × Russell 2000 Index | $5 × Russell 2000 Index |
| Minimum tick | 0.10 index points = $5.00 | 0.10 index points = $0.50 |
| Value of a 1-point move | $50 | $5 |
| Globex hours (ET) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m., break 5:00–6:00 p.m. | Same as RTY |
| Expiry months | March, June, September, December | March, June, September, December |
| Last trading | At the scheduled NYSE open, 9:30 a.m. ET, on the final settlement day | At the open of the primary listing exchange that day |
| Final settlement | Cash, at a special opening quotation of the index on the third Friday | Same as RTY |
| CME rulebook | Chapter 393 | Chapter 363 |
A tick is the smallest price step. A 10-point move in the index is $500 on one RTY contract and $50 on one M2K. M2K does not trade while the lead RTY contract is halted under CME's price limit rule.
Price limits change during the day
CME sets RTY's limits each day from two inputs: a reference price, the average traded price of RTY between 3:59:30 and 4:00 p.m. ET on the previous business day, and offsets of 7%, 13% and 20% of the Russell 2000 at the previous stock market close.
| Time (ET) | What applies |
|---|---|
| 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. | No trading more than 7% above or below the reference price |
| 9:30 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. | Downside limits of 7%, 13% and 20%. When the lead month is limit offered at 7% or 13%, CME watches for 2 minutes; if it is still at the limit, trading halts for 2 minutes and resumes under the next limit. No trading below the 20% limit |
| 3:25 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Only the 20% downside limit |
| 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. | 7% above or below the new reference price, but not below the day's 20% limit |
A market-wide halt in stocks also stops RTY. When the New York Stock Exchange halts trading on a 7% or 13% fall in the S&P 500, RTY halts and resumes 10 minutes later under the next limit. On a 20% fall it stops for the rest of the session. Outside the cash session, CME's dynamic circuit breakers also pause trading for two minutes on a 3.5% move within an hour, according to CME's price limits FAQ.
Expiry dates and the roll
Each RTY contract stops trading at the regularly scheduled 9:30 a.m. ET open of the New York Stock Exchange on its final settlement day, normally the third Friday of the contract month. If the index is not published that Friday, the day moves to the business day before. Traders who want to keep a position move it to the next quarter before then, which is called the roll.
| Contract month | Last trading day |
|---|---|
| December 2026 | Friday, December 18, 2026 |
| March 2027 | Friday, March 19, 2027 |
| June 2027 | Thursday, June 17, 2027 |
| September 2027 | Friday, September 17, 2027 |
June 2027 ends a day early. The third Friday, June 18, 2027, is the Juneteenth holiday, and CME's calendar lists Thursday, June 17 as the last trading day and the settlement day. M2K follows the same rule in Rule 36302.G, so it stops at the same time.
RTY on the next holidays
Holidays shorten or cancel RTY sessions. RTY follows CME's holiday schedule for equity index futures.
| Date | Holiday | RTY and M2K |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov 26, 2026 | Thanksgiving | Halt 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. |
| Fri, Nov 27, 2026 | Day after Thanksgiving | Early close 1:15 p.m. |
| Fri, Dec 25, 2026 | Christmas | Closed |
| Fri, Jan 1, 2027 | New Year's Day | Closed |
| Mon, Jan 18, 2027 | Martin Luther King Day | Halt 1:00 p.m., reopens 6:00 p.m. |
Christmas EveCME's Christmas settlement notice sets early settlement for equity index futures at 12:00 p.m. CT (1:00 p.m. ET) on Thursday, December 24, 2026. A settlement time is not the same as a trading close. Check CME before you trade that day.
The full list is in the CME holiday calendar 2026 and the CME holiday calendar 2027.
What RTY hours mean in a prop firm account
RTY and M2K are offered in many futures prop firm evaluations, the paid tests on simulated accounts that firms sell. Each firm sets a flat-by time, by which every position must be closed. It falls before the 5:00 p.m. ET close, so the last part of the RTY day is usually off limits.
| Firm | Flat-by time | Before the RTY close |
|---|---|---|
| Topstep | 4:10 p.m. | 50 minutes |
| FundedNext Futures | 4:10 p.m. | 50 minutes |
| MyFundedFutures | 4:10 p.m. | 50 minutes |
| Lucid Trading | 4:45 p.m. | 15 minutes |
| Tradeify | 4:45 p.m. | 15 minutes |
| Earn2Trade | 4:50 p.m. | 10 minutes |
| Take Profit Trader | 4:55 p.m. | 5 minutes |
| Apex Trader Funding | 4:59 p.m. | 1 minute |
| Bulenox | 4:59 p.m. | 1 minute |
RTY's point value matters for a firm's loss limits. On a $2,000 drawdown, a 40-point move against one RTY contract uses the whole allowance; on M2K the same move costs $200. Drawdown types are explained in our guide to trailing drawdown, contract sizes in micro vs mini futures, and which firms let you hold past the close in our guide to prop firm weekend holding. Other stock index contracts are on our pages on ES futures trading hours and NQ futures trading hours.
Exchange hoursThese are CME Group's exchange hours and rules. A prop firm's own cut-off can be earlier. A prop firm evaluation is a paid service with simulated trading. Most people who buy one do not pass it, and firms change their rules, pause payouts and close. Not investment advice.
Questions
What time do RTY futures open on Sunday?
At 6:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. CT). That is 22:00 UTC while US daylight time lasts and 23:00 UTC in US standard time, from November 1, 2026.
Are M2K trading hours the same as RTY?
Yes. The Micro E-mini Russell 2000 trades the same Globex hours and stops on the same expiry days. It is one tenth of the size: $5 times the index instead of $50, so a tick is $0.50 instead of $5.00.
When does the December 2026 RTY contract expire?
Trading in the December 2026 contract ends at 9:30 a.m. ET on Friday, December 18, 2026. It settles in cash at a special opening quotation of the Russell 2000.
Why does the June 2027 RTY contract stop on a Thursday?
The third Friday, June 18, 2027, is the Juneteenth holiday. Under CME's rule the settlement moves to the business day before, so CME's calendar lists Thursday, June 17, 2027.
How much is one point in RTY futures worth?
$50 on one RTY contract and $5 on one M2K. The smallest price step is 0.10 index points, which is $5.00 on RTY and $0.50 on M2K.
Sources
- CME Rulebook, Chapter 393: E-mini Russell 2000 Index futures
- CME Rulebook, Chapter 363: Micro E-mini Russell 2000 Index futures
- CME Group: US-based equity index futures price limits FAQ
- CME Group: E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract specs
- CME Group: E-mini Russell 2000 futures product calendar (last trade and settlement dates)
- CME Group: Holiday and Trading Hours
- CME Group: Christmas holiday settlement times 2026
CME pages checked on ; holiday hours and firm flat-by times on September 26, 2026, from the firm pages linked above.