NQ Session Recap — Thursday, April 16, 2026

NQ gapped up 74.75 points at the open on Thursday, April 16, 2026 and settled at 26,484.75, +120.50 points (+0.46%) versus the prior regular-session close. The regular session traded a 288.50-point range between 26,275.50 and 26,564.00, closing in the upper part of the range.

Overnight trade ahead of the open ranged from 26,345.00 to 26,488.00. The day session took out the overnight high, which is worth logging if you track overnight-range behavior as part of your prep.

Price built a 177.75-point initial balance (09:30–10:30 ET, 26,275.50–26,453.25) and broke above it, extending about 62% of the IB range above the IB high at the furthest point.

Session volume totaled roughly 577,541 contracts across the trading day, with about 460,230 traded during regular hours.

One session is a data point, not a pattern. The way to use a day like this is to compare it against the distribution: how often NQ breaks its initial balance in this direction, what range expansion typically follows, and how similar sessions resolved. Profitabul's free report engine computes exactly those statistics over the last 120 sessions — no signup required.