NSE is set to bring a small but meaningful change to the futures market. Starting Monday, 8th December 2025, there will be a pre-open session for index and stock futures. Here’s the update in the simplest terms.
What Is the Pre-Open Session?
Every morning from 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM, futures will now have a short preparation window before the regular market begins.
During pre opening, you can:
- Place orders
- Modify orders
- Cancel orders
No trades are executed instantly. All orders are first collected and later matched to decide the official opening price of each contract.
Timing Snapshot
- 9:00–9:08 AM: Order entry, Modification and Cancellation
- 9:08–9:12 AM: Order matching & price discovery
- 9:12–9:15 AM: Buffer period
- 9:15 AM: Regular trading starts
Which Futures Are Applicable For This?
The pre-open session will apply to:
- Current-month stock futures
- Current-month index futures
Also, during the last five trading days before expiry, next-month futures will be included as well.
The session will not apply to:
- Options
- Far-month futures
- Spread contracts
- Futures of stocks undergoing a corporate action on that day
How Will the Opening Price Be Decided?
Here’s the process:
- All orders placed between 9:00 AM and 9:08 AM are collected.
- The system identifies a single price where maximum buy and sell orders can match.
- This becomes the opening price for that futures contract.
If several prices qualify, the one with the smallest order imbalance is picked. If that still ties, the price closest to the previous day’s close is used.
If no match is found in this session, the first trade in the regular market sets the opening price.
Unmatched limit orders move forward into the normal session, while unmatched market orders convert into limit orders at the opening price. If no equilibrium price is discovered, market orders move at the base price (previous day’s closing).
You can read the exchange circular here
Easy & quick
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