Opening hours for the foreign exchange market & the stock exchange

The foreign exchange market is not only the world’s largest financial market by far – but also the world’s most accessible. Forex can basically be traded around the clock five days a week. The reason for this is that currency trading is not directly linked to any specific exchange with certain opening hours to relate to. This means that thanks to the international time differences, there are always banks, forex brokers and trading institutes open for currency trading anywhere in the world.

With that said, there are of course times of the day that are both better and worse suited for forex trading. Because even if the market may be open, it does not mean that there is a position for trading every minute – around the clock. In currency trading, people usually talk about 4 different times or time zones, as a trader should be extra alert. Here we go through a little more that you should keep in mind when trading online.

Optimal market hours for forex trading

If you want to be successful in forex trading, you should at least aim for the following 4 market times to trade; London, New York, Sydney and Tokyo. As these time zones are well spread out in relation to each other and the markets also represent some of the world’s largest, the conditions for foreign exchange trading are most favorable precisely when two of these markets overlap. Then the trade takes place as diligently as possible and the prices are thus the most mobile. The London Stock Exchange is overlapped by New York, Sydney by Tokyo and when a day has finally passed, Tokyo is also overlapped by London. Most movement in exchange rates usually takes place when both New York and the London market are up and running.

But what times then apply to the opening hours of the foreign exchange market, as well as the various stock exchanges around the world? We list which market opens when – from Asia and Oceania in the east, to North America in the west.

>What opens at 10 PM (GMT)?

The New Zealand Stock Exchange is the first (or last, depending on how you look at it) to open its doors for securities trading. Local opening hours are 10: 00-16: 45, which corresponds to 23: 00-05: 45 Swedish time. In other words, it is important for traders to be really alert, or alternatively use a trading robot to be able to trade automatically at night. Incidentally, it should be noted that the spread is considerably higher when only one market is open, compared with when several different stock exchanges are open. Therefore, be a little extra careful with trading at night.

>What opens at midnight (GMT)?

At midnight, it’s time for the Sydney Stock Exchange in Australia and the Japan Stock Exchange in Tokyo to open. Local opening hours for the Australian market are 10:00-16:00 (01: 00-07:00 Swedish time), while Tokyo works between 9:00-15: 00 (also the 01:00-07:00 Swedish time) . Please note, however, that the Tokyo Stock Exchange closes for lunch between 11: 30-12: 30 (03: 30-04: 30 Swedish time) – something that is common, especially on the Asian stock exchanges.

>What opens at 01:30 (GMT)?

For those of you who want to be active and trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange or the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the machinery starts at 01:30 British time, which corresponds to 9:30 AM local time. Shanghai and Shenzhen are open until 3 PM local time (07:00 British time) while Hong Kong closes an hour later – that is 17:00 for us in the UK. Here, all trading is paused for lunch – in Shanghai and Shenzhen between 11:30-13:00 and in Hong Kong between 12:00-13: 00 (corresponding to 03:30-05:00 and 04:00-05:00 respectively GMT).

>What opens at 05:30 (GMT)?

The Iranian Tehran Stock Exchange can be traded between 05:30-09:00 (09:00-12:30 local time). Several stock exchanges in the Middle East apply considerably narrower opening hours than the rest of the world, and in addition, the normal trading week usually runs between Saturday and Wednesday instead of Monday-Friday. In Dubai, you can buy commodities on the Dubai Merchantile Index from Sunday 16.00 CST to Monday 16.00 CST and then from 16.45 on Monday with closing at 16.00 CST on Thursdays. Never seen a stranger calendar for trading hours than the one in Dubai, which shows US time instead of local time with Gulf Standard Time (GMT +4).

>What opens at 08.00 (GMT)?

A whole bunch of European stock exchanges open for the day at 08:00 British time – including the Stockholm Stock Exchange (Nasdaq Nordic) and the German (Frankfurt Stock Exchange), French (EuroNext in Paris), Italian (Borsa Italiana)
and the Belgian market (EuroNext Brussels). The London Metal Exchange and Portuguese (Euronext Lisbon) are also open 08: 00-16: 30 GMT – which corresponds to 08: 00-16: 30 local time. Get started with forex trading, stock trading or indices in the European markets with, among other things, CFDs, spot trading or ETFs – try the Scandinavian site Skilling today!

>What opens at 1 PM (GMT)?

Afternoon time in the UK means morning time across the Atlantic, and thus opening for trading on the stock exchanges in North, Central and South America. First out is Bolsa de Valores de Sao Paulo – the Brazilian market – starting 2 PM GMT and closed at 20:30 (10:00-17:30 Brazilian time).

>What opens at 2:30 PM (GMT)?

At 14:30 British time, trading will begin on the US and Canadian stock exchanges, including the giants NASDAQ, NYSE and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The markets are open until 21:00 GMT. Note that an hour’s change in opening hours takes place temporarily in the gap between when the UK switches to winter time at the end of October, until the US and Canada do so. The opening hours are then instead 13: 30-21: 00 GMT time, but thus return to 14: 30-22: 00 when the clocks are set back also in North America.

Extremely low spreads for many commodities, stocks or those who want to trade stock indices can often be possible just when the US stock market has opened, until it has been up and running for a few hours. It is often a good time to enter or exit a trade, as the market can change as American investors sometimes have different prospects and sentiments than British and European traders.

>What opens at 3:30 PM (GMT)?

In the late afternoon British time, it will be possible to trade futures on CFE – Chicago Futures Exchange – which is part of CBOE, also the world’s largest market for options trading. The Chicago Stock Exchange is one of the world’s foremost in terms of options and futures, and is also home to the well-known volatility index VIX. At Capital.com, you will find a wide range of global indices, stocks and currencies – available for trading in, among other things, CFDs and futures.

Price fluctuations due to opening hours

You can expect that there may be some extra price movements as some larger marketplaces open up. This is completely normal and common, but is good to be aware of when dealing with online trading, whether it is pure speculation or more long-term investment. Also keep in mind that times may change for some markets depending on whether they apply summer time / winter time as UK, or not.

Forex Trading with spot trading vs futures

Spot trading means simply explained trading in financial instruments for immediate delivery in the market. An asset’s spot price thus speaks to the price/value that applies in this particular moment, as opposed to a forward price that rather shows the expected price later on. Spot trading with CFDs is the most common form of currency trading, but the alternative of using futures / futures is also common. Read more about spot trading vs futures trading here, use our list of opening hours for the stock exchanges – and start trading currencies, shares or other assets in the UK and the rest of Europe, as well as the USA, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Register with the transparent broker Capital and start now!

Published: Mon, 18 May 2020 17:24
Author: Emelie Rubenson

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