ET to Beijing Time: What Time Is the Open, the Cutoff, and the Close?
US markets run on Eastern Time, so if you watch from Beijing time you have to line the clocks up first. One number is enough: 13 hours in winter, 12 hours in summer. Add it to the ET time and you get Beijing time.
Two gaps to remember: 12 hours in summer, 13 in winter
Eastern Time comes in two forms: daylight time EDT (UTC-4) and standard time EST (UTC-5); Beijing time is UTC+8 all year round.
In 2026 daylight time runs March 8 to November 1; it is November now, so we are on standard time and the gap is 13 hours.
The rule: ET time + 12 hours (summer) or + 13 hours (winter) = Beijing time; if the sum passes 24:00, it is the next day.
Daylight time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November each year — the dates move, so remember the rule, not the dates.
The four key times, side by side
9:30 a.m. open: 9:30 p.m. Beijing time the same day in summer, 10:30 p.m. in winter.
3:30 p.m. no-new-open cutoff: 3:30 a.m. Beijing time the next morning in summer, 4:30 a.m. in winter.
3:55 p.m. close-out reminder: 3:55 a.m. Beijing time the next morning in summer, 4:55 a.m. in winter.
4:00 p.m. close and settlement: 4:00 a.m. Beijing time the next morning in summer, 5:00 a.m. in winter.
The two mistakes everyone makes
After 3:30 p.m. ET it is already the next morning in Beijing — the final stretch happens in the small hours, so don't plan it as daytime and don't stay up on the wrong night.
Watch the switch week: on the day the clocks change (March 8 and November 1 in 2026), the gap shifts by one hour; that day's table follows the new gap, so check it the day before.
On half days the market closes at 1:00 p.m. ET — 1:00 a.m. Beijing time in summer, 2:00 a.m. in winter — still the small hours.
This simulator's quotes are delayed about 15 minutes: the price you see in Beijing time is the ET price from 15 minutes ago, not this second's price.
How to use this table in the simulator
Right now it is winter time: practice after the 10:30 p.m. Beijing open, stop opening anything new before 4:30 a.m., and close out as soon as the 4:55 a.m. reminder appears.
Set two phone alarms: 4:25 a.m. (5 minutes before the cutoff) and 4:50 a.m. (5 minutes before the close-out reminder) — winter times; in summer move them to 3:25 a.m. and 3:50 a.m.
The home-page countdown runs on ET — don't convert it yourself: when it says how many minutes are left, that is how many minutes are left.
Start with 1 long single-leg contract, walk through a full day on this clock, then try spreads.
This simulator uses real CBOE option chains delayed about 15 minutes, starts with $10,000 in virtual funds, charges $0.65 per contract per side in fees, and shows P&L net of fees; short-sale margin is a simplified simulated rule at 20% of the strike, not a real broker margin. The simulator is for practicing orders, discipline, and review. It is not investment advice and promises no returns.