TradeDay Weekend Holding Rule
The Simple Answer
No weekend holding, though TradeDay allows overnight holding within a session. Positions opened in the evening can be carried through the night but must be closed before the market closes the next day. TradeDay auto-liquidates 10 minutes before the daily close and does not fail you for an accidental breach.
Below is a breakdown of how the TradeDay weekend holding rules apply across different account types and stages.
Breakdown by Account Type
What overnight actually means here
TradeDay defines a CME trading session as running from the market open at 5 PM CT through to the close the next day, and everything inside that window counts as one day. Overnight trading is allowed within that session, so a crude oil position opened at 5:30 PM CT Tuesday is fine, but TradeDay states it must be closed before 3:50 PM CT on Wednesday. What you cannot do is carry a position through the close, which rules out the weekend.
Evaluation accounts
TradeDay asks you to exit all positions 10 minutes before the close and states there is no holding positions when the market closes. It auto-liquidates all open positions 10 minutes before the daily market close, and separately 2 minutes before its tier 1 economic data releases, reopening markets 2 minutes after.
Funded Sim and Funded Live accounts
For funded traders TradeDay requires all open positions closed 10 minutes before the close of the product you are trading, and states that any trader holding a position during this time will be issued a warning. That is the closest thing to a formal warning system among the firms in this comparison.
Products with earlier closes
The auto-liquidation is not universal. TradeDay states it can liquidate open positions at 3:50 PM CT only, so if you trade a product with a different closing time, such as agricultural products which close earlier, it is your responsibility to be flat and have no working orders before that product closes.
Why the rule exists
TradeDay explains it in terms of live risk management: when funded traders are in the live market, it is impossible for the trading group to risk manage positions while the market is closed. A breaking news event or data release during the closure could reopen the price significantly against a trader risk limits and incur significant losses.
Session Close and Reopen Times
Futures accounts do not pay swaps, so what matters instead is knowing exactly when you have to be flat and when the market comes back. These are the times that govern that.
Warning System for Weekend Holding Violations
TradeDay is unusually explicit about the difference between an accident and a habit. It states it does not fail you for accidentally breaching the permitted times, but that traders found to be ignoring these guidelines and abusing the policy will lose their account. Funded traders holding into the close are issued a warning. The hard limit is on recourse: TradeDay says twice, in the same article, do not rely on TradeDay to manage your orders, your order book is your responsibility, and if you breach a drawdown limit because the software did not liquidate your position or prevent orders from being filled, TradeDay will not reset the account.
Final Comments
Weekend gap risk is the reason this rule exists, and it is why almost every futures firm wants you flat before the close on Friday. Treat the auto-close as a backstop rather than a plan, because the firms that offer it are the same firms that tell you not to rely on it.
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FAQ
Is weekend holding allowed in TradeDay?
No weekend holding, though TradeDay allows overnight holding within a session. Positions opened in the evening can be carried through the night but must be closed before the market closes the next day. TradeDay auto-liquidates 10 minutes before the daily close and does not fail you for an accidental breach.
Can I hold over the weekend on a Standard Evaluation account?
Evaluation phase: Overnight allowed within session, no holding into the close. Funded phase: Not allowed. TradeDay defines a CME trading session as running from the market open at 5 PM CT through to the close the next day, and everything inside that window counts as one day. Overnight trading is allowed within that session, so a crude oil position opened at 5:30 PM CT Tuesday is fine, but TradeDay states it must be closed before 3:50 PM CT on Wednesday.
Can I hold over the weekend on a Quick Pay Evaluation account?
Evaluation phase: Overnight allowed within session, no holding into the close. Funded phase: Not allowed. TradeDay asks you to exit all positions 10 minutes before the close and states there is no holding positions when the market closes. It auto-liquidates all open positions 10 minutes before the daily market close, and separately 2 minutes before its tier 1 economic data releases, reopening markets 2 minutes after.
What happens if I break the TradeDay weekend holding rule?
TradeDay is unusually explicit about the difference between an accident and a habit. It states it does not fail you for accidentally breaching the permitted times, but that traders found to be ignoring these guidelines and abusing the policy will lose their account. Funded traders holding into the close are issued a warning.
What time do I have to be flat with TradeDay?
Trading session (CME products): 5:00 PM CT open through to the close the next day. The full list of session times is in the table above, and different product groups can have different deadlines.
