Daylight saving and prop firms: New York open and each firm's flat time from Europe and Latin America

From October 26, 2026 to October 30, 2026, the New York session opens at 14:30 in Spain (not 15:30) and APEX's flat time falls at 21:59. From November 2 it's back to 15:30 in Spain, and in Latin America the open moves one hour later: 08:30 in Mexico City, 09:30 in Bogotá and Lima, 11:30 in Buenos Aires.

Europe and the US change their clocks on different Sundays, and most of Latin America doesn't change at all. Prop firm rules are written in New York or Chicago time, so the hour you must be flat moves on your clock. These tables are computed from the official time zone database, period by period, until April 2027.

Period by period

October 19, 2026 – October 24, 2026

October 25, 2026 – October 31, 2026

The odd week: Spain is only 5 hours ahead of New York instead of 6. Data comes out and the market opens one hour earlier than usual on your clock.

November 1, 2026 – March 13, 2027

March 14, 2027 – March 27, 2027

The odd week: Spain is only 5 hours ahead of New York instead of 6. Data comes out and the market opens one hour earlier than usual on your clock.

March 28, 2027 – April 3, 2027

April 4, 2027 – April 11, 2027

What doesn't change

• The rules don't move: the firms keep their times in New York or Chicago time. What moves is your clock.
• CME closes from 17:00 to 18:00 New York time every day; on Friday it closes at 17:00 and reopens on Sunday at 18:00.
• A position open past your firm's flat time can fail the account or be closed automatically, depending on the firm: check its rules on prop firm rules.

Sources

• CME Group: E-mini Nasdaq-100 trading hours
• APEX: user agreement (flat by 4:59 PM ET)
• Lucid: allowed trading times (4:45 PM ET)
• Tradeify: permitted times to trade (4:45 PM ET)
• Topstep: when you can trade (3:10 PM CT)
• IANA time zone database

Times computed with the IANA time zone database from the official New York and Chicago hours. US holidays and shortened sessions (such as the day after Thanksgiving) are not included: check CME's holiday calendar.

Educational content based on our own experience. Not investment advice. Firm rules change: check them on each firm's website. This article contains no affiliate links.