What Time Options Dey Start Trading?

Options start trading by 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the same minute wey US stocks dey open. Four index products dey trade overnight before that time, and exchanges start to accept orders for regular session by 7:30 a.m. But order wey dey wait for that early period enter queue; dem no fill am yet. The morning options clock get four main points: order acceptance by 7:30 a.m., overnight session wey stop by 9:25 a.m., five-minute gap, then 9:30 a.m. opening.

Which time options start trading?

Regular options trading dey start by 9:30 a.m. ET. Na so e be for every listed US option, whether the underlying asset na one stock, ETF or index. Cboe Options Exchange, wey list SPX and VIX options, dey publish session timetable for Eastern Time. As e read on August 26, 2026, the morning rows be:

Begin GTH Order Acceptance (SPX, VIX, XSP, RUT), 8:00 p.m.
Global Trading Hours (SPX, VIX, XSP, RUT), 8:15 p.m. to 9:25 a.m.
Begin RTH Order Acceptance, 7:30 a.m.
Regular Trading Hours (RTH), 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Source: Cboe Options Exchange, Hours & Holidays, read August 26, 2026.

RTH na exchange shorthand for regular trading hours, the normal session. GTH mean global trading hours, the overnight session. The underlying stock market get its own clock, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Our stock market hours guide explain each session one by one.

Wetín order fit do during the 7:30 a.m. acceptance window?

Order acceptance no be trading. From 7:30 a.m. ET, exchange dey collect orders for regular session and hold dem inside queue book. Order wey dey inside that book just dey wait. You fit cancel or replace am. E no fit match yet. Cboe own documentation talk am clearly for symbols wey no get extended session: early order go wait until regular open by 9:30 a.m. ET.

By 9:30, queued orders enter the opening process. Na one matching event be this, and e prints the first trade for each option series at one price. Limit order wey person enter by 7:45 a.m. fit show no fill for almost two hours, then fill when market bell ring.

Two things follow from this. Price wey broker screen show by 8:00 a.m. na indication, not live two-sided market wey order fit hit. And the 7:30 a.m. time na exchange rule, not broker rule. Individual brokers set their own earliest entry time, and some no forward options orders before open at all.

Which options dey trade overnight, and when that session dey stop?

Four Cboe index products dey trade through the night: SPX, the S&P 500 index option; XSP, the mini S&P 500 index option; VIX, the volatility index option; and RUT, the Russell 2000 index option. Their global trading hours session run from 8:15 p.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET, while order acceptance for am start by 8:00 p.m. Nothing else for the US options tape dey trade during those hours. Trader for Tokyo wey dey watch S&P 500 by 10 p.m. New York time dey look that same order book. We explain the setup inside trading 0DTE options from Japan.

The overnight session stop by 9:25 a.m., five minutes before regular open. Those five minutes no be trading session. Orders wey still dey inside overnight book by 9:25 join regular session queue and take part for the 9:30 opening process. The gap allow exchange hand over cleanly from one book to the other.

How tape dey look for the first thirty minutes?

Session rules explain wetín dem permit. Tape show the trades wey actually print. The panel below arrange every US listed option contract wey trade into Eastern Time half-hours, across the ten calendar days ending two sessions ago. E report each bucket share of total contract volume.

WITH
    tape AS
    (
        SELECT
            intDiv(
                toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60
              + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')), 30) * 30 AS bucket_minute,
            sum(volume)                                                          AS contracts
        FROM global_markets.options_minute_aggs
        WHERE window_start >= today() - 12
          AND window_start <  today() - 2
        GROUP BY bucket_minute
    ),
    shares AS
    (
        SELECT
            bucket_minute,
            contracts,
            round(100 * contracts / sum(contracts) OVER (), 2) AS share_pct
        FROM tape
    )
SELECT
    formatDateTime(toDateTime('2026-01-01 00:00:00') + grid.bucket_minute * 60, '%H:%i') AS et_time,
    round(ifNull(s.contracts, 0) / 1000000, 2)                                           AS contracts_millions,
    ifNull(s.share_pct, 0)                                                               AS share_pct
FROM
(
    SELECT 420 + 30 * arrayJoin(range(21)) AS bucket_minute
) AS grid
LEFT JOIN shares AS s ON s.bucket_minute = grid.bucket_minute
ORDER BY grid.bucket_minute

The 07:00 half-hour carry 0% of the sample volume, as overnight index session dey enter its final hours. The half-hour wey start by 09:30 carry 12.75%, or 67.5 million contracts across the sample. Na that step be the open. Buckets after 16:00 belong to index close and curb session. wetín time options stop trading cover the matter fully.

If we zoom into one liquid name, the boundary go clear more. SPY, the S&P 500 ETF, get one of the busiest options books for the market and e no get overnight session. This panel follow the market minute by minute from 09:15 to 10:00 ET. E report average contracts wey print per session for each minute, plus the share of sampled sessions wey record any print for that minute.

WITH tape AS
(
    SELECT
        toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60
      + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))              AS minute_of_day,
        countDistinct(toDate(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) AS days_traded,
        sum(volume)                                                         AS contracts
    FROM global_markets.options_minute_aggs
    WHERE startsWith(ticker, 'O:SPY')
      AND length(ticker) = 20
      AND window_start >= today() - 12
      AND window_start <  today() - 2
    GROUP BY minute_of_day
)
SELECT
    formatDateTime(toDateTime('2026-01-01 00:00:00') + grid.minute_of_day * 60, '%H:%i')         AS et_time,
    toUInt64(round(ifNull(t.contracts, 0) / greatest((SELECT max(days_traded) FROM tape), 1)))   AS contract_volume,
    round(100 * ifNull(t.days_traded, 0) / greatest((SELECT max(days_traded) FROM tape), 1), 1)  AS active_pct
FROM
(
    SELECT 555 + arrayJoin(range(46)) AS minute_of_day
) AS grid
LEFT JOIN tape AS t ON t.minute_of_day = grid.minute_of_day
ORDER BY grid.minute_of_day

By 09:15, average na 0 contracts, and that minute print for 0% of sampled sessions. By 09:30, average na 74043 contracts, and e print for 100% of dem. The difference between those two rows answer the title question with measurement, not assumption. Quoted spreads dey behave differently during those first minutes compared with every other part of the day. why option spreads widen at the open explain that topic separately.

Equity options, ETF options and index options

Every listed option open by 9:30 a.m. ET. Na the closing time separate the products. Single stock and ETF options finish by 4:00 p.m. ET, together with stock market. Cboe proprietary index options run until 4:15 p.m. ET, wey be the RTH end time for the session row we quote above. After that, SPX, XSP, VIX and RUT get curb session until 5:00 p.m. The close, the fifteen-minute tail and expiration-day cutoff all dey inside wetín time options stop trading.

One change dey pending for the morning side. Cboe announce expanded session for some single stock options. The schedule notice quote global trading hours from 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET, alongside regular hours from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. As of August 26, 2026, that schedule notice no get effective date. Until dem announce one, 9:30 a.m. remain the first minute single stock option fit trade.

Half day dey change the time options start trading?

No. Shortened session dey move the close, but e leave open time unchanged. On half days around Thanksgiving and Christmas, market open with normal schedule and close by 1:00 p.m. ET instead of 4:00 p.m. Exchange calendar show both times for each shortened day.

SELECT
    formatDateTime(date, '%b %e')                                          AS holiday_label,
    any(name)                                                              AS holiday,
    formatDateTime(toTimeZone(any(open),  'America/New_York'), '%I:%i %p') AS scheduled_open_et,
    formatDateTime(toTimeZone(any(close), 'America/New_York'), '%I:%i %p') AS scheduled_close_et,
    round((toHour(toTimeZone(any(open),  'America/New_York')) * 60
         + toMinute(toTimeZone(any(open),  'America/New_York'))) / 60, 2)  AS open_hour_et,
    round((toHour(toTimeZone(any(close), 'America/New_York')) * 60
         + toMinute(toTimeZone(any(close), 'America/New_York'))) / 60, 2)  AS close_hour_et
FROM global_markets.stocks_market_holidays
WHERE date >= today()
  AND status = 'early-close'
GROUP BY date
ORDER BY date

Each of the 2 shortened sessions ahead open by 09:30 AM ET and close by 01:00 PM ET, starting with Thanksgiving on Nov 27. Opening bar flat across every row, while closing bar drop. Full closures and the rest of the calendar dey inside stock market holidays and early closes.

FAQ

Which time options start trading for morning?

9:30 a.m. ET, for every listed US option. Exchanges start to accept regular-session orders by 7:30 a.m. ET, and those orders wait for queue until opening process by 9:30.

Person fit trade options for premarket?

Only four index products. SPX, XSP, VIX and RUT options dey trade on Cboe overnight session from 8:15 p.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET. Single stock and ETF options no get premarket session as of August 26, 2026. Premarket order for those names go rest until 9:30 a.m.

Why options dey start by 9:30 instead of earlier?

Listed option settle against price of underlying stock or index, and regular session for those underlyings start by 9:30 a.m. ET. Overnight index session na the exception, and e stop five minutes before regular open.

Options dey open by 9:30 on half day?

Yes. Shortened trading day move close to 1:00 p.m. ET, but e leave 9:30 a.m. open unchanged. The dates ahead dey inside panel above and our stock market holidays and early closes calendar.

Wetín be difference between order acceptance and trading?

Order acceptance mean say exchange go hold order inside queue. Trading mean order fit match. Between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. ET, regular-session option order dey rest. E fit match only during the 9:30 opening process.

Every panel here come with the SQL wey produce am. Open one to see exactly how dem count the clock buckets, or ask the same question for plain English on the Strasmore terminal.