E-mini Nasdaq 100 (NQ) September (U) contract study: year-by-year results, the day-by-day shape of the move and where highs and lows printed.
Contract Almanac · E-mini Nasdaq-100
Every September Nasdaq contract 2010–2025, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Jun 13 – Sep 11
The September contract holds the Nasdaq through summer, mid-June to mid-September, and its record matches its ES sibling’s quiet excellence: 13 of 16 higher (81%) with a +5.7% average, tech’s summer earnings season powering a drift the calendar’s reputation says should not exist.
Each year is one contract, measured from the open of the day it took over the lead to the close of the day it handed off, the same roll convention used across all Traders Brief research. An index contract holds the lead for a full quarter, roughly 63 trading days from one roll to the next — these are quarterly seats, not months, and the day counts read accordingly. All highs and lows are the contract’s own trades, marked by trading day of the tenure, not calendar day.