S&P 500 (SP500) today
The broad US market, day by day: the club's AI digest once the session opens, the Kill Zones on your clock and the dates that shape the close.
This page is today's session context for the S&P 500, refreshed every day: the latest public session digest from the club's AI (released only after the session has opened), today's Kill Zones in New York time and in your time zone, and the high-impact US dollar news from the Forex Factory calendar. Below the live part you will find the permanent background on the index's hours, its calendar and how ICT traders treat it. From LSG Club, a free trading journal.
The club AI's latest session digest
When the S&P 500 trades
The S&P 500 tracks 500 large US companies across all eleven sectors, weighted by market value. Its cash session runs 09:30–16:00 New York. E-mini S&P 500 futures, which most SP500 CFDs follow, trade on CME Globex from Sunday 18:00 to Friday 17:00 New York with a daily break from 17:00 to 18:00. The futures carry the overnight story; the cash session carries most of the volume. In the last minutes before 16:00 the closing auctions can add a burst of activity of their own.
| Window | New York time | What usually happens |
|---|---|---|
| Asian Kill Zone | 20:00–00:00 | Futures drift on light volume unless Asia or late news moves them |
| London Kill Zone | 02:00–05:00 | Europe opens; the overnight range often takes shape |
| New York AM Kill Zone | 07:00–10:00 | 08:30 data, then the 09:30 cash open |
| Cash open | 09:30 | Opening auctions; volume peaks in the first hour |
| London Close Kill Zone | 10:00–12:00 | 10:00 data; the opening move is tested or extended |
| Cash close | 16:00 | The closing auction sets the official close |
| Futures daily break | 17:00–18:00 | Globex pauses before the next session opens at 18:00 |
Dates and releases to know
- US CPI, the jobs report, retail sales and weekly jobless claims — 08:30 New York.
- ISM surveys and consumer sentiment — 10:00.
- FOMC statement at 14:00 and press conference at 14:30, eight meetings a year.
- Earnings season, four times a year, traditionally opened by the large banks in mid-January, April, July and October.
- The third Friday of each month, when stock-index options expire — and in March, June, September and December the quarterly futures as well.
What moves the S&P 500
Because it spans every sector, the S&P 500 is the broadest everyday gauge of US corporate profits. Earnings and guidance, the path of Fed policy, Treasury yields and the dollar are the main inputs, and in stressed markets the index often moves with global risk appetite rather than its own news. It is less concentrated in technology than the Nasdaq-100, so on days when tech and the rest of the market disagree the two indices can diverge — useful context, not a forecast.
ICT approach to S&P sessions
ICT traders often work the S&P 500 alongside the Nasdaq and the Dow, because the three should confirm each other. When one index makes a new high or low and another does not, ICT calls it SMT divergence — the Nasdaq 100 page gives the other side of that comparison. The New York AM Kill Zone and the 09:30 open get most of the attention, while the London Kill Zone often sets the overnight range that New York later runs. A daily bias from the higher timeframes frames the session. The Kill Zone converter puts these windows on your clock, and the S&P 500 position size calculator handles the per-point value of your broker's contract.
Frequently asked questions
What time does the S&P 500 open and close?
The cash session runs from 09:30 to 16:00 New York time. E-mini futures trade nearly 24 hours, Sunday 18:00 to Friday 17:00 New York, with a one-hour break every day at 17:00.
What is triple witching?
The third Friday of March, June, September and December, when stock options, index options and index futures expire on the same day. Volume around the close is often much heavier than usual.
Does the club AI publish S&P 500 levels here?
No. The page shows the public text of the session plan — its headline and summary — after the session has opened. It is the club's AI reading of the chart, not a signal, and it has no levels.