Trading Rules
Swing Trading
Holding positions overnight or across multiple days. In prop trading it depends on the firm allowing positions outside regular hours, which many futures firms do not.
In plain English
Futures prop firms are mostly intraday programs: positions must be closed before the session close or a stated cutoff time. Firms that allow swing trading let you hold through the overnight session and sometimes through weekends, with rules covering both.
Overnight holding interacts badly with intraday trailing drawdowns and daily loss limits, since overnight gaps can jump straight past your limits. Firms that permit swing trading usually detail exactly which products and hours qualify.
- A trader holds a long ES position from Thursday afternoon into Friday morning.
- At a no-overnight firm this is a breach at the daily cutoff; at a swing-friendly firm it is normal usage.