Overnight futures (BTST)
This is the simplest form of the overnight or BTST trade: buy NIFTY futures shortly before the close every day and sell them in the first minutes of the next session. It is based on the observation that, over long periods, much of the index's gain has come between one day's close and the next day's open rather than during trading hours. Here it is tested as a real futures trade, night after night.How it trades
Results
PRE-BUILT · DEFAULTSWhere it made and lost money
This trade has no filter, so the evidence shows what kind of afternoon tended to lead to a good night. In this test, entries after a session that closed above its open made ₹1,06,274 over 119 nights, while entries after a session that closed below its open lost ₹2,70,082 over 124: weakness into the close often carried on into the next morning's open. Trend days were the only session type that paid, making ₹51,081 over 69 nights, while quiet and choppy sessions each lost more than ₹1 lakh. Tuesday expiry-day entries made ₹1,21,779 over 52 nights. In the end, the result was decided by the 44 nights with a fall of over 1%, which lost ₹3,50,254.
About this strategy
- Every trading day at 15:15, buy one lot of the NIFTY near-month future.
- On the monthly futures expiry day, buy the next month's contract instead, since the expiring one cannot be held overnight.
- Hold overnight with no stop and no target.
- Sell at 09:16 the next session, skipping the 09:15 print, which carries the pre-open auction price.
- Skip any night where the next session has no futures data.
Why traders use it
Global markets, US trading hours and overnight news all feed into the next morning's open, and studies of many equity indices have found that a large share of long-run returns arrives overnight. A BTST futures position captures that gap with almost no effort: two orders a day, no indicators, no monitoring during market hours. It is also an easy way to test whether a commonly quoted market pattern survives real contract prices and trading costs.
The year in plain words
From 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 the strategy held NIFTY futures on 245 nights and lost ₹1,62,444 before costs, with 46% winning nights and a profit factor of 0.82. After ₹20 per order and bid-ask slippage the loss was ₹2,36,008. Wins and losses were almost the same size, about ₹6,760 and ₹7,020 on average, so the outcome rested on a few large gaps. October 2025 made ₹74,033, but March 2026 lost ₹1,57,872 and September ₹58,827. The maximum drawdown before costs was about ₹2.56 lakh. Over this year the overnight pattern did not hold for NIFTY futures.
What the settings do
Risks
- Every trade is fully exposed to overnight gaps, and there is no stop to limit them; the worst night lost about ₹35,850.
- Losses cluster in sell-off periods, as March 2026 showed.
- Holding a lot overnight needs full futures margin every day.
- With about 20 round trips a month, costs add up even though each trade is only two orders.
Who it suits
Traders curious whether the well-known overnight effect works on NIFTY futures, with futures margin available every night and the stomach for large swings from gaps.
Questions traders ask
What is BTST in NIFTY futures?
BTST means buy today, sell tomorrow. Here it means buying the NIFTY future near the close and selling it just after the next day's open, so the profit or loss is whatever the overnight gap delivers.
Is the NIFTY overnight BTST strategy profitable?
Not in this test. Buying every night from 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 lost ₹1,62,444 before costs and ₹2,36,008 after ₹20 per order and bid-ask slippage, over 245 nights. Statutory charges were excluded. Past results do not guarantee future ones, and a different year may show the opposite.
Why sell at 09:16 and not 09:15?
The 09:15 price comes from the pre-open auction and may not be a price at which a normal order could be filled. The first full minute of continuous trading gives a more realistic exit.
What happens on futures expiry day?
The near-month contract expires that afternoon and cannot be held overnight, so on that day the strategy buys the next month's contract instead. If the data has no next-month quote at 15:15, that night is skipped rather than traded at a made-up price.