What are the most active trading times of day for the ER2?

Question

For the Russell 2000 e-mini futures, I know the first part of the morning is usually fairly active. What about the rest of the day? Are there certain times of day that generally have higher activity? I'm looking for 2-3 times per day that have higher activity than the rest of the time.

A citation would be very helpful, but please answer even if you don't have one.

Thanks!

Answer 1

The opening and the closing hour are the most active parts of the day, not just for ER2 but also for the rest of the index futures and stocks.

However, no answer beats your own research so pull up a chart of ER2 and see what those times are.

Answer 2

The most active is going to be the first hour or 1-1/2 hrs of trading and the last hour. But since this Bear Market has taken hold, everything has changed. The last 2 hrs are mostly dead, and things have picked up through the lunch hour without notice.

One reason the opening hour is so busy is because the European markets are still open. 5pm in London is about 11:00 am our time.

The lulls to avoid are Friday afternoons, especially the day before a holiday.