Overnight rule (flat before close)
Also called: Flat before close, No overnight positions, Daily close rule, Close-of-session rule
In short. The overnight rule requires all positions to be closed before the firm's daily cut-off, typically between 4:10 pm and 4:59 pm ET for CME equity index futures, and forbids holding through the 5 pm ET maintenance break. Most futures prop firms apply it to evaluations and funded accounts alike; a position still open at the cut-off is a breach, or is flattened by the firm.
The rule removes gap risk from accounts whose drawdown could not absorb an overnight move. It also means an order-flow trader has to manage the last ten minutes of the session: a profitable swing held into the close is closed at the firm's time, not yours.
Some firms allow overnight on funded accounts with a reduced size, or on specific products. The firm page shows the rule as published; the shortlists do not rank on it because it rarely differs.
Questions traders ask
What is Overnight rule?
The overnight rule requires all positions to be closed before the firm's daily cut-off, typically between 4:10 pm and 4:59 pm ET for CME equity index futures, and forbids holding through the 5 pm ET maintenance break. Most futures prop firms apply it to evaluations and funded accounts alike; a position still open at the cut-off is a breach, or is flattened by the firm.