Now / NQ

NQ gamma levels

close of Wednesday, September 30, 2026 · the market is closed

NQ (NQZ26) is 265.56 points above the zero-gamma flip at 30,444.59, the NDX volume book moved to the future's price by a basis of +270.75. Net gamma on that book is positive: a position, not a forecast.

Basis +270.75 (NQ minus NDX, the day's running median at the NQ tick) · contract NQZ26 · 16:15 ET.

How the levels are made

The terminal shows NQ as a view of the NDX book, not as a symbol of its own. Every NDX level (the zero-gamma flip, call resistance, put support and the strikes) is moved by the day's basis: the future minus the index. The basis is measured from put-call parity on the NDX AM-settled quarterly options, the expiry the future settles on, and it is the day's running median of the collector's passes, rounded to 0.25, the NQ tick. No CME data and no futures feed are used. The public reading on this page is the NDX book, rebuilt every five minutes, at its last point at least fifteen minutes old, in the volume book, the one the chart draws.

Against real NQ minute prices over 21 sessions in September 2026, the median residual was +0.4 point and half the stamps were within 2.7 points. NDX options are quoted wider than SPX's, so the NQ basis is less tight than ES's. The long version, with why parity and what differs between ES and NQ: how SPX dealer gamma maps onto ES and NQ futures. The day's basis passes are public at /gex/basis.json and /gex/basis/<day>.json.

The roll, and the micros

• The front contract. The view follows the front quarterly and switches 8 days before expiry, as traders roll. In the 2 weeks before that the next quarterly is measured too, and the levels API and the integrations can serve either by its dated symbol (for example NQH27). New quarterlies appear by themselves.
• MNQ. Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures trade at the same prices as NQ, so the same levels apply.

What LIVE adds

• No delay. NQ is drawn from the NDX book, rebuilt every five minutes, with the price every second. Open it in the terminal.
• Alerts in Telegram. @FirmTapeBot sends LIVE subscribers an alert when NQ crosses the flip, breaks the call wall or the put support, or the book changes gamma regime, on a symbol list of their own. /levels nq answers anyone, fifteen minutes late without LIVE.
• Integrations and the levels API. The same NQ levels inside NinjaTrader, Sierra Chart, ATAS, Quantower, Bookmap, MotiveWave, TrendSpider, TradingView and thinkorswim (beta), or as JSON from the levels API with a read-only ftpl_ token.

The public channel @firmtape posts SPX, ES and NQ three times a session, fifteen minutes late, and the day's summary after the close. LIVE is $49 a month.

Questions

How are NQ gamma levels calculated?

They are the NDX options book (the volume book the terminal draws) moved by the day's basis: NQ minus NDX, measured from put-call parity on the NDX AM-settled quarterly options that expire with the future, taken as the day's running median of the collector's passes and rounded to 0.25, the NQ tick. No CME data and no futures feed are used.

How close is the basis to the real NQ price?

Against real NQ minute prices over 21 sessions in September 2026, the median residual was +0.4 point and half the stamps were within 2.7 points. NDX options are quoted wider than SPX's, so the NQ basis is less tight than ES's.

Do the levels work for MNQ?

Yes. Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (MNQ) trade at the same prices as NQ, so the same levels apply.

Which contract is shown, and what happens at the roll?

The front quarterly, which switches 8 days before expiry, as traders roll. In the 2 weeks before that the next quarterly is measured too, and the levels API and the integrations can serve either by its dated symbol (for example NQH27). New quarterlies appear by themselves.

Is this page live?

No. It is at least 15 minutes behind, the same delay as /now, and outside the session it shows the last close. LIVE draws NQ with no delay, sends level alerts in Telegram and puts the levels inside trading platforms.

Is this a NQ futures-options book?

No. It is the NDX options book at the NQ price. CME options on the future are not read.

Are these trade signals?

No. They are measurements of dealer positioning. FirmTape publishes no buy or sell signals.

Open NQ in the terminal ES gamma levels

The NDX reading this page moves: /gex/ndx. Every finished SPX session is free in the archive. Measurements are model output derived from public trade and quote data; they are approximations and can be wrong. Nothing here is investment advice; see the Terms.