Quadruple witching is the quarterly session when several families of US equity derivatives expire on the same day: stock index futures, stock index options and single-stock options, plus single-stock futures in the original definition. It falls on the third Friday of March, June, September and December, and it is regularly one of the busiest trading sessions of the quarter.
The next quadruple witching day is Friday, December 18, 2026. In 2027 the dates are March 19, June 17 (a Thursday, because the NYSE is closed on Friday, June 18 for Juneteenth), September 17 and December 17. Below: what expires, why volume jumps, triple vs quadruple witching, and what it means for long-term investors.
What is quadruple witching?
In US markets, standardized derivative contracts follow fixed expiration calendars. Equity options have a standard monthly expiration on the third Friday of every month. Stock index futures, such as the E-mini S&P 500 and E-mini Nasdaq-100, are quarterly: their contract months are March, June, September and December, and they also expire on the third Friday. Four times a year the two calendars line up, and that overlap is what traders call witching.
The classic definition lists four types of contracts expiring together:
- Stock index futures: futures on indices such as the S&P 500, the Nasdaq-100 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- Stock index options: options on those indices, for example S&P 500 index options (SPX).
- Single-stock options: listed options on individual companies and, in practice, on ETFs as well.
- Single-stock futures: futures on individual shares, the leg that has been largely missing from US markets in recent years (see the triple vs quadruple section below).
The name comes from the “witching hour”, the last hour of the regular session, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. New York time, when positions are closed, hedges are unwound and closing orders pile up. It is market slang rather than an official exchange term.
What “expiring” means in practice
Expiration triggers trades in the underlying market, and those trades explain most of what happens on the day:
- Cash settlement in the morning: quarterly E-mini S&P 500 futures and standard monthly SPX options settle in cash on a special opening value of the index (the Special Opening Quotation, or SOQ, in CME’s terms), calculated from the opening prices of its component stocks on expiration day, so the open matters as well as the close.
- Settlement at the close: some index options, such as the SPXW series, settle on the closing value of the index instead, which adds to end-of-day activity.
- Exercise and assignment: stock and ETF options are physically settled. Under the Options Clearing Corporation’s exercise-by-exception procedure, options that finish at least $0.01 in the money are generally exercised automatically unless the holder instructs otherwise, which turns options into purchases or sales of shares.
- Rolling: traders who want to keep their exposure usually roll futures into the next quarterly contract during the week or so before expiry, so part of the activity happens before the day itself.
Quadruple witching dates: December 2026 to December 2027
The rule is simple: the third Friday of March, June, September and December. Because the first Friday of a month always falls between the 1st and the 7th, the third Friday always falls between the 15th and the 21st. When that Friday is an exchange holiday, expiration moves to the previous business day, which is usually the Thursday. The regular session ends at 4:00 p.m. New York time on each date below.
| Quarter | Expiration day | Close in Brussels and Paris | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | Friday, December 18, 2026 | 22:00 CET | Standard third Friday |
| Q1 2027 | Friday, March 19, 2027 | 21:00 CET | US clocks change on March 14, Europe’s only on March 28 |
| Q2 2027 | Thursday, June 17, 2027 | 22:00 CEST | One day early: NYSE closed on Friday, June 18 (Juneteenth observed) |
| Q3 2027 | Friday, September 17, 2027 | 22:00 CEST | Standard third Friday |
| Q4 2027 | Friday, December 17, 2027 | 22:00 CET | Standard third Friday |
Why June 2027 falls on a Thursday
Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19) has been an NYSE holiday since 2022. In 2027, June 19 falls on a Saturday, so the exchange observes it on Friday, June 18, which is also the third Friday of the month. With US stock markets closed that day, the June 2027 expiration moves to Thursday, June 17. The same thing happened in 2026: June 19 was a Friday, and the June expiration took place on Thursday, June 18. Good Friday can cause the same shift in March, but it rarely coincides with the third Friday (the last time was 2008); in 2027 it falls on March 26, a week after the March expiration.
The 2026 dates already behind us
For reference, the 2026 witching days so far were Friday, March 20; Thursday, June 18; and Friday, September 18. The last one of the year is Friday, December 18.
Exchange calendars can change in exceptional circumstances, so confirm a date on the official NYSE holiday calendar. Company events often land in the same weeks: our stock catalyst calendar tracks earnings, ex-dividend dates, IPOs and stock splits for US-listed companies, which helps put an unusual price move in context.
Why trading volume spikes on quadruple witching day
On witching days, volume rises far more reliably than volatility. Several mechanical flows meet in the same session:
- Options hedges come off. Market makers who sell options typically hedge them with the underlying stock or with futures. When the options expire, those hedges are no longer needed and are unwound, often near the close.
- Exercise and assignment create share trades. In-the-money stock options turn into purchases and sales of shares that settle like ordinary trades.
- Index rebalancing lands on the same date. S&P Dow Jones Indices applies its quarterly S&P 500 share and weight updates after the close on the third Friday of March, June, September and December, and Nasdaq schedules the annual Nasdaq-100 reconstitution around the December date. Index funds and ETFs that track these benchmarks aim to trade at the closing price, so their orders go into the closing auction.
- Futures and stocks are traded against each other. Traders who hold index futures against a basket of shares close or roll both legs around expiry, which adds volume in both markets.
The result is that an unusually large share of the day’s volume trades in the closing auction rather than in continuous trading. Banks’ estimates of the notional value of contracts expiring on recent quarterly dates have run into the trillions of dollars, but notional value is not the same as shares changing hands: much of that exposure is closed, rolled or offset well before the final bell.
Volatility is a different story. Prices can move sharply in the last hour if large order imbalances appear, and stocks with heavy options open interest sometimes close near popular strike prices, a pattern known as pinning. On many witching days, though, the major indices end with an ordinary move. With S&P 500 index options now expiring every trading day, part of the expiry-related activity is also spread across the week rather than concentrated on the quarterly date. How much an individual stock tends to move with the market as a whole is a separate question, covered in our guide to beta and systematic risk.
Triple witching vs quadruple witching
Both terms describe the same quarterly day. The only difference is how many contract types you count.
| Term | When | What expires |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly options expiration (“opex”) | Third Friday of every month | Standard monthly stock, ETF and index options |
| Triple witching | Third Friday of March, June, September and December | Stock index futures, stock index options and single-stock options |
| Quadruple witching | The same quarterly dates | The three above, plus single-stock futures |
In the US, single-stock futures traded mainly on OneChicago, which stopped trading in September 2020. For several years the fourth leg was therefore essentially absent, and “triple witching” was the more accurate label. CME Group announced new US single-stock futures in mid-2026, but listed stock options remain by far the larger market. In practice, financial media use triple witching, quadruple witching and “quad witching” interchangeably for the quarterly expiration.
What long-term investors should know
For an investor whose horizon is measured in years, quadruple witching is a calendar fact to be aware of rather than an event in itself. A few points help interpret it.
It is a liquidity event, not new information
Expiry flows are driven by contract mechanics and index rules, not by news about the companies involved. A stock that jumps or slides in the last hour of a witching day has the same revenue, cash flows and balance sheet it had at lunchtime. Price and value can diverge for a few hours; what a business is worth depends on the cash it can generate over time, which is the subject of our guide to the intrinsic value of a stock.
One-day readings are unreliable
Closing prices on witching days are set by very large auctions. A sharp close or a spike in volume can be partly reversed or diluted in the following sessions, so a single witching-day print says little on its own. When you compare prices over time, it is worth knowing whether a reference date was an expiration day.
Options holders are directly affected
Expiration matters directly if you own or have written options, including protective puts or covered calls. Options that finish in the money may be exercised or assigned automatically, brokers set their own cut-off times for exercise instructions, and an options position can turn into a share position (long or short) after the close. Our overview of option strategies used to hedge a portfolio explains how these contracts work.
Time zones for European investors
For investors in Belgium, France or Switzerland, the witching hour runs from 21:00 to 22:00 local time for most of the year. During the short windows when US and European clocks change on different dates, such as between March 14 and March 28, 2027, Wall Street closes at 21:00 instead, so the March 19, 2027 witching hour runs from 20:00 to 21:00. European benchmarks follow their own rules: Euro Stoxx 50 futures and options on Eurex, for example, also expire on the third Friday of the expiry month, but they settle around midday Central European Time.
Quadruple witching FAQ
When is the next quad witching day?
Friday, December 18, 2026. The dates after that are Friday, March 19, 2027; Thursday, June 17, 2027; Friday, September 17, 2027; and Friday, December 17, 2027.
What time is the quadruple witching hour?
It is the last hour of the US regular session, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which is 21:00 to 22:00 in Brussels and Paris for most of the year. Activity also picks up at the open, because index futures and standard S&P 500 index options settle on opening prices that morning.
Is quadruple witching bullish or bearish?
It has no built-in direction. The flows are large but run in both directions, and the net effect depends on how options and futures are positioned that quarter and on whatever news is moving the market. How the market moved on past witching days is not a forecast for the next one.
How often does quadruple witching happen?
Four times a year, once per quarter. Standard monthly options also expire on the third Friday of the other eight months, but those sessions do not include the quarterly index futures expiry.
What happens if the third Friday is a market holiday?
Expiration moves to the previous business day. That is why the June 2026 and June 2027 expirations fall on Thursdays (Juneteenth). Good Friday can do the same in March, although it last fell on the third Friday of March in 2008.
Educational content, not investment advice.
0 Comments