Little Bird TradingSPI 200 Futures Trading Hours: Sydney and New York Times
4 min read
The ASX SPI 200 futures trade in two sessions a day, and between them the contract covers about 20 hours of the clock. The times shift twice a year with Australian daylight saving and twice more with US daylight saving, so the same session can start at a different hour in New York depending on the month. This page lists every session in Sydney time and New York time, with the dates each change happens.
SPI 200 trading hours in Sydney time
| Session | Sydney time |
|---|---|
| Day session | 9:50am to 4:30pm |
| Break | 4:30pm to 5:10pm |
| Night session (US on daylight saving) | 5:10pm to 7:00am |
| Night session (US on standard time) | 5:10pm to 8:00am |
The ASX 200 cash index trades from 10:00am to 4:00pm Sydney time. The futures open 10 minutes earlier and close 30 minutes later, so the SPI already has a price when the first cash stocks open.
The night session end follows the US clock. The US moves to daylight saving on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November. Those two dates move the SPI close by an hour in Sydney.
SPI 200 trading hours in New York time
Australia and the US change their clocks on different dates and in opposite directions, so the gap between Sydney and New York runs 14, 15 or 16 hours across the year. All New York times below are Eastern Time. A day session that starts in the Sydney morning begins in the New York evening of the day before.
| Period | Day session (ET) | Night session (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| First Sunday in April to first Sunday in October | 7:50pm to 2:30am | 3:10am to 5:00pm |
| First Sunday in October to first Sunday in November | 6:50pm to 1:30am | 2:10am to 4:00pm |
| First Sunday in November to second Sunday in March | 5:50pm to 12:30am | 1:10am to 4:00pm |
| Second Sunday in March to first Sunday in April | 6:50pm to 1:30am | 2:10am to 4:00pm |
For most of the year the SPI night session closes at 4:00pm New York time, right as US stocks close. From April to early October the close lands at 5:00pm New York time, an hour after the US cash close.
Which session matters for the Australian open
The night session runs through the European and US cash sessions. By the time the ASX 200 cash market opens at 10:00am Sydney, the SPI has already priced most of the overnight news. The gap you see at the cash open is the overnight SPI move, made hours earlier in thinner trade.
That timing is the reason the ASX 200 / SPI levels on this site come from the futures contract. Levels drawn from the cash index alone miss everything the SPI did overnight.
Liquidity across the sessions
- Day session: the deepest book, especially in the first hour after the cash open and the last hour before the cash close.
- Early night session: quiet until Europe opens, with wider spreads.
- US overlap: volume picks up again once US stocks open at 9:30am New York time, because the SPI reacts to ES and the US session.
Thin hours move price further for the same order size. If you size the SPI the way you size ES, the quiet parts of the night session cost more in slippage than the numbers on paper suggest. The position sizing guide covers sizing in smaller steps.
Holidays and early closes
The SPI follows the ASX trading calendar. On Australian public holidays such as Anzac Day the day session does not run. The night session can also close early or be skipped around Christmas, New Year and Easter. ASX publishes the exact schedule each year, and the daily plans on this site follow that calendar, so no plan publishes for a session that has no trading.
The contract in brief
One SPI 200 contract is worth A$25 per index point, and the minimum tick is one point, so A$25 a tick. Contracts expire quarterly in March, June, September and December. The full specifications are on the SPI 200 contract specifications page, and SPI 200 futures explained covers how the contract relates to the cash index.
FAQ
What are the SPI futures trading hours?
The day session runs 9:50am to 4:30pm Sydney time. The night session runs from 5:10pm to 7:00am Sydney time while the US is on daylight saving, and to 8:00am the rest of the year.
Does the SPI 200 trade overnight?
Yes. The night session covers the European and US trading days, which is where most of the move into the next Australian open happens.
What time does the SPI open in New York?
Between 5:50pm and 7:50pm Eastern Time the evening before, depending on the time of year. The table above lists each period.
Is the ASX 200 open when the SPI is?
Only during the day session. The cash index trades 10:00am to 4:00pm Sydney time, so the SPI trades for about 14 hours a day with no cash index price beside it.
Are ASX SPI 200 and SFE SPI 200 the same contract?
Yes. The SPI 200 listed on the Sydney Futures Exchange before ASX took the exchange over. Older charts and data feeds still use the SFE name.
Session times are set by ASX and can change. Check the ASX trading calendar before relying on a specific date. Educational content only. Not investment advice.
Educational content only. Not investment advice.