What times of day can you trade stocks, currencies and crypto?
From sunny Sydney to leafy London, the world’s financial centres are a busy place. But given their vastly different time zones, when exactly are the markets open for trading stocks, cryptocurrencies and forex?
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From sunny Sydney to leafy London, the world’s financial centres are a busy place. But given their vastly different time zones, when exactly are the markets open for trading stocks, cryptocurrencies and forex?
To cut a long story short, this depends on the type of asset being traded. Generally speaking, wherever on the planet you may find yourself on a weekday, the odds are that trading is under way somewhere. That said, some times of day are busier than others, for reasons that will become apparent in our guide.
So, buckle yourselves in for a whistle-stop tour of the global markets, complete with a cut-out-and-keep guide to timings.
Stock markets trading hours
Before we jump into the schedule, here are a few fast rules to bear in mind:
Trading hours, and the duration of each session, vary from city to city
Some stock exchanges in Asia take lunch breaks, but the rest of the world does not
Markets often close on public holidays. As an example, the New York Stock Exchange will shut its doors on July 4, Independence Day in the US
Middle Eastern stock exchanges also have different business days because their weekends do not fall on a Friday and Saturday
Daylight savings time can put some countries an hour ahead (or an hour behind) for six months of the year
Now, without further ado, let us look at when the world’s major stock exchanges are open:
As you can see, these exchanges provide continuous trading opportunities around the clock (we haven’t even covered smaller markets such as New Zealand, which opens at 10pm GMT.)
Stock exchanges have strict trading hours because they want to ensure that liquidity is highest between their opening and closing bells. Generally, the markets are busiest at the start of the trading hours, as investors react to news from other parts of the world and digest financial results.
Forex trading hours
Forex markets are a different beast because they operate 24 hours a day for most of the week (from 12pm GMT on Sunday to 11am GMT on Friday.) This is possible because currencies are not traded through one particular exchange. However, do not let this fact trick you into thinking that there is movement all the time. The world’s financial centres still run their own trading hours for a set time period on weekdays, which looks like this:
Forex markets are busiest when two markets are open at the same time, and if you look closely, you will notice they all overlap. Sydney and Tokyo’s sessions share a five-hour window, and New York and London share three hours. This boosts volumes and makes it easier to execute trades.
Crypto markets trading hours
Crypto markets are fully 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but levels of liquidity can vary depending on the time of day. This means there is a slight difference for traders who are trying to assess market movements. Whereas stock traders would compare the current share price with its position at the close of trading the day before, crypto traders would look at the price exactly 24 hours ago instead. The 24/7 nature of crypto trading hours also changes the way we analyse daily figures. If we have a start and close price, that does not mean that the market started or closed at this figure. All it shows us that the coin we are looking at was worth one price at 0000 hours and another at 2359 hours, because, in effect, those are the cryptocurrency trading hours. There is no real close and no real open.
If a currency is on the markets, it is being traded and its price is, for want of a better word, official. Also, since the cryptocurrency market operates at weekends, any price chart will look smoother. There will be sudden falls and rises, but they will be the ones that happen organically through trading. They will not be dips and boosts generated by the markets closing and out of hours trading taking place. Basically, the answer to the question "what time does the crypto market open and close" is "it doesn't". The crypto markets are always open.
That said, though, is there still a best time to trade crypto? Charles Edwards, the founder of Capriole Investments, did some research and found that there was a higher return on bit investment for trades made on Sunday night into Monday morning. This may be because there are fewer active traders on weekends, meaning there is more chance of the price going up suddenly when more people start trading again on Monday morning.
FAQs
It has been suggested that the best time to trade stocks and shares is from 9.30am to 10.30am. This is the time when you will see the most volatility, so there is the most potential to make money at this point.
However, you should do your own research, remember prices can go down as well as up and never invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Yes, you can trade forex, stocks, and crypto on the weekend. Stocks can be traded via Electronic Communications Networks, forex can be traded through central banks, and the crypto markets never close.
Yes, you can, thanks to Electronic Communications Networks.
No it does not. You can trade cryptocurrency at any time you want to. That is because the crypto market is open 24/7.
