You can, but it's a different market. Between 9:00 am and 2:00 pm Spain time (3:00-8:00 am in New York), the Micro Nasdaq moves about 0.52× as much per minute as during the New York session, with around 6 times less volume. Everything changes at 2:30 pm (US data, 0.84×) and especially at 3:30 pm, the New York open (1.62×).
We measured every minute of 2019-2026 Micro Nasdaq data, 24 hours a day, on the Madrid clock. For each half hour: average movement per minute and average volume, as a multiple of the New York session (1× = an average minute from 3:30 to 10:00 pm Spain time).
What it means if you trade in the morning
- Halve your stops and targets. With price moving about half as much, a 20-tick target that takes minutes in the afternoon can take an hour in the morning, or never come.
- Costs weigh about double. Commission and slippage are the same, but each minute moves half: you need a higher win rate just to cover them (see the break-even calculator).
- 2:30 pm is a trap for morning traders. CPI, jobs and other US data come out then (8:30 am in New York): if you're in a position, the calm ends suddenly. Check today's releases.
- Mind the clock changes. For a few weeks in March and in October-November, everything happens an hour earlier in Spain.
Practice before risking money: the futures simulator uses the real volatility of
the New York session; and to see how many contracts fit your account, use the contracts
calculator.
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.