CME US Index Futures RTH.xml

[Bidder]

As of several days ago trading hours template "CME US Index Futures RTH.xml" has been updating with a different end time.
End time for equity futures has always been <EndTime>1515</EndTime> but is now being changed to <EndTime>1600</EndTime>.
The update happens automatically upon launch of Ninja and will also occur from a manual update to the trading hours under the Database Management menu.

I know how to create custom templates etc. to remedy my immediate situation so I don't need to go down that path.

I would just like confirmation that the behavior is intentional and if so, for what reason was this change made.

Thx

[NinjaTrader_Eleanore]

Hello Bidder,

Thank you for reaching out.

This was indeed intentional. As of yesterday, CME Group has removed the trading halt between 3:15 and 3:30 p.m. CT on CME Globex for Equity Index products. This enhancement will allow market participants to access liquidity continuously throughout the trading day and manage event risk that occurs during the trading session with greater ease.

Due to this change, the RTH was updated to reflect this change.

Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

[NinjaTrader_Emily]

Hello Bidder,


Thank you for your post.


The CME Group announced that starting yesterday, there will no longer be a daily trading halt from 3:15 to 3:30pm CT for Equity Index products. The trading hours template has been adjusted to reflect this change. For reference, please see the following publicly available link from the CME website that cites the trading hours for the Equity Index products:

https://www.cmegroup.com/trading-hours.html#equityIndex

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance.

[Bidder]

Thanks for the info and quick reply.

A useful suggestion if I may:
Every three months the platform hammers home the point that equity futures are expiring, something many traders are keenly aware of.
Changes to trading hours and other irregular events which happen every 5 or so years would be a good use of -maybe a better use of the Announcement feature.

[NinjaTrader_Emily]

Hello Bidder,


Thank you for the suggestion.


I am not sure how the change was announced by the CME Group, although I suspect that NinjaTrader did not really have any advance notice of this change happening. We typically use the in-product announcements to notify our users of changes that will affect their ability to trade on the platform. This change was implemented in the trading hours template on our servers, and the platform picks up those changes automatically when we have updated trading hours templates or instrument definitions. There is not a notification released for every change that is made, as this could potentially result in more notifications than desired by our users.


I appreciate your patience. Please feel free to reach out with any future NinjaTrader items we may assist you with.

[Bidder]

I had a look at the CME notification area and it's been buried in the weekly notices to brokers for at least a week or two.

I don't really expect that kind of advance notice hand holding but now that it has happened it may be a good idea to help publish the event.

An automated strategy based on trading hours templates may now suddenly take trades in the thin after-market where it would not have previously done so.

https://www.cmegroup.com/notices/electronic-trading/2021/06/20210621.html#ecefo

https://www.cmegroup.com/content/dam/cmegroup/notices/ser/2021/06/SER-8788R.pdf

https://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/advisorySearch.html

[synthhokie]

Could this for any reason cause drawings to disappear?

[NinjaTrader_Emily]

Hello Bidder,

Thank you for your reply.

At this time, we do not plan on making a NinjaTrader announcement regarding the change to the CME Group trading hours. I understand the scenario you mentioned for those who use automated strategies, however, that does not apply to all of our users and doesn't seem to warrant an announcement. If a user is affected by this change or has additional questions, we are certainly glad to offer support, including how to create a custom trading hours template if desired. You have mentioned that you already know how to do this; for additional information regarding Trading Hours in the platform, please see the help guide section here:

https://ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt8/using_the_trading_hours_window.htm

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance.

[NinjaTrader_Emily]

Could this for any reason cause drawings to disappear?

Hello synthhokie,

Thank you for your post.


This change should not be related to drawing objects disappearing. If you still have concerns regarding your drawing objects, please send me your log and trace files so that I may look into what occurred.

You can do this by going to the Control Center-> Help-> Email Support

Ensuring 'Log and Trace Files' is checked will include these files. This is checked by default.

Please include a link to this forum post and reference the following ticket number in the body of the email: 3161572 ATTN Emily C



Please don't hesitate to contact us with any future NinjaTrader questions.