Expiration
The date on which a futures contract reaches the end of its life and is either cash-settled or triggers physical delivery.
Expiration (also: expiry) is the date specified in the contract after which the futures contract ceases to trade. At expiration, all remaining open positions are settled — either by cash settlement (financial futures) or by initiating the physical delivery process (commodity futures).
Equity index futures (ES, NQ, YM, RTY) expire on the third Friday of the contract month (March, June, September, December for the standard quarterly cycle). The final settlement price is the Special Opening Quotation (SOQ) — a single-price auction of the underlying index components.
Traders who do not intend to hold through expiry must roll their position to the next contract before the last trading day.
Related Terms
Cash Settlement
A settlement method where no physical asset changes hands at expiration — the contract settles to a final index or reference price in cash.
BeginnerContract Month / Delivery Month Codes
The single-letter codes futures exchanges assign to each calendar month, appended to a root symbol with a year to identify a specific contract.
BeginnerDaily Settlement Price
The official closing price established by the exchange each session, used to calculate mark-to-market P&L and margin requirements.
IntermediateFirst Notice Day
The first date on which a futures contract seller can issue a delivery notice for physical settlement; long holders must exit before this date.
IntermediateFutures Contract
A standardized, exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell an asset at a fixed price on a set future date, settled daily via mark-to-market.
BeginnerLast Trading Day
The final session in which a futures contract can be traded before it expires and moves to settlement or delivery.
BeginnerPhysical Delivery
Settlement method where the seller of a futures contract must deliver the actual underlying commodity to the buyer at expiration.
IntermediateQuadruple Witching
Like triple witching but adds the expiration of single-stock futures — the four simultaneous derivative expirations on quarterly expiry Fridays.
IntermediateRollover
Closing a near-expiry futures position and simultaneously reopening it in the next contract month to maintain exposure without taking delivery.
IntermediateSettlement Price
The official price used at expiration (or daily) to resolve all outstanding contracts — either cash-settled or as the delivery benchmark.
IntermediateTriple Witching
The quarterly expiration of stock index futures, stock index options, and individual stock options simultaneously on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December.
Intermediate