01 · Observe futures

What changed while the Nasdaq cash market was closed?

Graham measures one pre-open information signal: the movement in Nasdaq-100 futures from the prior US cash-market close to 09:15 New York time. The observation is recorded before the 09:30 cash open.

A fixed window and a locked signal.

The model does not search across the morning for the most convenient futures move. The two endpoints are fixed in advance.

Prior session16:00 New YorkBase endpoint
Forecast day09:15 New YorkObservation locked
Cash market09:30 New YorkNasdaq opens
\[r^{NQ}_{t,\mathrm{pre}}=\ln\!\left(\frac{NQ_{t,09{:}15}}{NQ_{t-1,16{:}00}}\right)\]

Why observe futures?

Nasdaq-100 futures trade while the US cash market is closed. Their pre-market movement can therefore contain information arriving overnight before the Nasdaq Composite itself opens. Graham uses that movement as a predictor, not as the closing-level forecast itself.

A positive signal means futures are above the prior-session endpoint at 09:15. A negative signal means they are below it. The production model then asks how movements like that historically map into the Nasdaq Composite's same-day return.

Latest locked observation.

Target date
Observation cutoff09:15 ET
NQ pre-market move
Record statusWaiting

Graham Says publishes the derived pre-market return used by the model. Raw vendor bars and endpoint prices remain private.

The information set, recorded over time.

Each point below is the pre-open futures movement that was available when that day's forecast was created.

DateWindowNQ moveStatus
No prospective observations published yet.

Record first, evaluate later.

01Observe

Read the fixed 16:00 → 09:15 futures window.

02Record

Write the target-date signal to the prospective log.

03Forecast

Pass the signal through the frozen model.

04Lock

Publish before the US cash session opens.

05Wait

The realised close remains unknown.