First of all, it is so amazing to me that index futures options trade 24/6 I notice that the spread on NQ nearest options is proportionately about 3x that of ES. Am I missing something or is there a specific reason for this (volatility?) Thanks
Thanks. I'm looking at this: ES: 3230 CALL 84.50 85.00 spread is 0.5 which is about 0.5/85 0.5% of the contract NQ: 8750 CALL 282.25 286.75 spread is 4.5 which is about 4.5/286.75 1.5% of the contract Even if you look at the spread as a percentage of the underlying, it's 0.01% (ES) vs 0.05% (NQ).
A bunch of good responses here -- I'll add current volume, though, as a major cause of bid-ask spread. Look at Friday expiries versus Mon or Wed. Look at ES vs NQ vs Rus or Dow -- as traded volume goes down, bid-ask widens. So, compare a 3rd Friday ES to any Monday RUT, on a %-of-price basis, and WOW.
Looks like the NQ spread shrinks by about 50% during regular trading hours so @tommcginnis was closest. He gets the prize.