NQ and MNQ/Overnight session, long only
JRH Overnight
A long-only strategy for the overnight session in Nasdaq-100 futures. It takes at most one trade a night, sends a far-away disaster stop with the entry, and is flat before the 9:30 ET open. On most nights it doesn't trade.
- Markets
- NQ and MNQ, tested at 1 MNQ
- Pace
- Less than one trade a week
- Hours
- The overnight session only
- Holds
- Through the night. Flat before the 9:30 ET open
- Stop at entry
- A far-away disaster stop only
- Size
- Fixed, set by you. Long only
On your chart
What you'll see, in order
The exact rules and settings are proprietary. This is the behavior you'll see, and the limits fixed in the code.
- Waits
Each night starts flat. On most nights its conditions never line up, and it doesn't trade.
- Enters
When they do, it buys, at most once a night, with a disaster stop far from the market.
- Holds
It holds through the overnight session. Most trades end with a small loss, and the winners are far larger.
- Exits
When its rules end the trade, or at the latest before the 9:30 ET open.
- Flat
It never carries a position into the regular session or over a weekend.
Hypothetical results
MNQ · May 2019 to Oct 2026 · 1 MNQ contract on every trade, no compounding · 1 point ($2) a round trip deducted · default preset
Most recent trade
Long. Win, +$30.50 at 1 MNQ
The overnight session of its most recent trade in the research data, drawn as a simplified price path with the entry and the exit marked. No prices, times or levels are shown, and it is not to scale. Some trades lose.
Last three trades, newest first
- LongWin+$30.50at 1 MNQ
- LongLoss−$2at 1 MNQ
- LongLoss−$2at 1 MNQ
Net at the size shown, after the research costs. The first is the trade drawn above. No dates are shown.
Profit factor by half of the test period
Bars start at the 1.0 break-even line. Two similar halves suggest a steadier result than one strong half.
| Average trade | $34.90 |
| Winning trades | 23.1% |
| Worst trade | −$466 |
| Worst day, open trades marked | −$896 |
| NQ cross-check, Jan 2018 to Oct 2026, 1 NQ contract | 368 trades, PF 2.05 (1.70 / 2.29) |
| NQ net and largest drawdown | 3,898 / 755 points |
| NQ worst trade | −501 points |
Weak spots
- Chosen on this same history. Its rules were found on the data shown here, and later checks confirmed only part of them. One of its rules held up on MNQ but not clearly on NQ.
- Expect less than the MNQ figures. On NQ the same rules made a profit factor of 2.05. Expect results closer to that than to MNQ's 3.03.
- Uneven on NQ. On NQ it has had losing stretches of a year or more.
- Most trades lose. About three in four trades lose after costs, most of them by a little.
- Overnight risk. It holds positions through the overnight session, including early-morning US economic reports. Prices can gap, and an exit can fill well away from where the trade turned.
- A far-away stop. Its only stop at entry is far from the market, so a single loss can be large. Its worst NQ trade lost 501 points, $10,020 at 1 NQ. It was tested at one contract, and more contracts multiply its worst nights.
How it was tested
- Data: clean NQ and MNQ price data, Eastern time. MNQ from May 2019 and NQ from Jan 2018, both to Oct 2026.
- Costs: 1 point a round trip ($2 on MNQ, $20 on NQ). Your costs may be higher.
- Size: one contract on every trade, no compounding.
- Against chance: trades on randomly chosen nights, entered the same way, earned about 1.5 points each, against 17.5 for its own picks on MNQ and 10.6 on NQ.
- Tighter stops: in testing, a tighter stop at entry lowered its MNQ profit factor to between 1.49 and 1.66.
- Code check: in offline tests, the strategy file matched the research model trade for trade across 40 test runs.
Hypothetical performanceCFTC Rule 4.41 · NFA Rule 2-29
These results are based on simulated or hypothetical performance results that have certain inherent limitations. Unlike the results shown in an actual performance record, these results do not represent actual trading. Also, because these trades have not actually been executed, these results may have under- or over-compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated or hypothetical trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to these being shown.
HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE MANY INHERENT LIMITATIONS, SOME OF WHICH ARE DESCRIBED BELOW. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN. IN FACT, THERE ARE FREQUENTLY SHARP DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND THE ACTUAL RESULTS SUBSEQUENTLY ACHIEVED BY ANY PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM.
ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS IS THAT THEY ARE GENERALLY PREPARED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. IN ADDITION, HYPOTHETICAL TRADING DOES NOT INVOLVE FINANCIAL RISK, AND NO HYPOTHETICAL TRADING RECORD CAN COMPLETELY ACCOUNT FOR THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL RISK IN ACTUAL TRADING. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ABILITY TO WITHSTAND LOSSES OR TO ADHERE TO A PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM IN SPITE OF TRADING LOSSES ARE MATERIAL POINTS WHICH CAN ALSO ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS. THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER FACTORS RELATED TO THE MARKETS IN GENERAL OR TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY SPECIFIC TRADING PROGRAM WHICH CANNOT BE FULLY ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE PREPARATION OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND ALL OF WHICH CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS.
What you control
Your settings
The signal logic is fixed. These are the settings you choose.
| Contracts | The fixed size of every trade. |
| Max loss per trade | Moves the stop at entry closer if you want one. Closer stops tested worse. |
| Alerts | NinjaTrader alerts on each fill, on or off. |
| Trade log | An optional CSV file of your trades. |
Before you go live
Run JRH Overnight on Sim first
Your license key works on NinjaTrader's simulator as well as live accounts. NinjaTrader has to stay running and connected through the night for this one. Check that your broker or firm allows trading the overnight session before you go beyond Sim.