SPX Settlement Dates: AM and PM Rules
How standard SPX options settle to the opening print, why they stop trading the day before, and how SPXW weeklys differ, quoted from the Cboe contract specifications.
A standard SPX contract and an SPX weekly settle in different ways, on different days, against different prices. The contract terms below are quoted from Cboe rather than summarised, because the wording is what decides which of your positions is already closed when the expiration date arrives.
Expiration date, standard SPX
The third Friday of the expiration month.
https://www.cboe.com/tradable_products/sp_500/spx_options/specifications/ (checked 2026-09-01)
Last trading day, standard SPX
Trading in SPX options will ordinarily cease on the business day (usually a Thursday) preceding the day on which the exercise-settlement value (i.e., the expiration date) is calculated, 5:00 pm ET.
https://www.cboe.com/tradable_products/sp_500/spx_options/specifications/ (checked 2026-09-01)
Settlement value, standard SPX
The exercise-settlement value, SET, is calculated using the opening sales price in the primary market of each component security on the expiration date.
https://www.cboe.com/tradable_products/sp_500/spx_options/specifications/ (checked 2026-09-01)
Last trading day, SPXW weeklys and end of month
Trading in SPXW options will ordinarily cease on the day of expiration, 4:00 pm ET, and at 1:00 pm ET for any half day holiday.
https://www.cboe.com/tradable_products/sp_500/spx_options/specifications/ (checked 2026-09-01)
What triple witching means
the simultaneous expiration of individual stock options, equity index options and equity index futures that occurs four times a year on third Fridays in March, June, September and December
https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/spx/Settlement_of_Standard_AM_Settled_SP_500_Index_Options.pdf (checked 2026-09-01)
2026 standard SPX settlement dates
The settlement date is the expiration date; the last trading day is the business day before it. Both columns come from the Cboe 2026 expiration calendar.
| Month | Settles on | Last trading day |
|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | 2026-01-16 | 2026-01-15 |
| February 2026 | 2026-02-20 | 2026-02-19 |
| March 2026 | 2026-03-20 | 2026-03-19 |
| April 2026 | 2026-04-17 | 2026-04-16 |
| May 2026 | 2026-05-15 | 2026-05-14 |
| June 2026 | 2026-06-18 | 2026-06-17 |
| July 2026 | 2026-07-17 | 2026-07-16 |
| August 2026 | 2026-08-21 | 2026-08-20 |
| September 2026 | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| October 2026 | 2026-10-16 | 2026-10-15 |
| November 2026 | 2026-11-20 | 2026-11-19 |
| December 2026 | 2026-12-18 | 2026-12-17 |
Where the open interest sits ahead of each of those dates is on the SPX max pain page, and the current dealer gamma picture is on the SPX gamma page.
ALSO IN THE CALENDAR
A plain-text copy of this page is at /calendar/spx-settlement-dates.md. Dates checked against their exchange sources on 2026-09-01. Educational content, not financial advice.