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Global Market Hours
Assets react differently depending on which markets are open at the time of day that you are trading and that the markets react to news, data, or reports.
For instance when events happen in the USA in the afternoon, the Asian markets will respond during next trading session, where as European markets may not react at all because they will have other information to digest along with the information from the US.
The perfect example was the Announcement that S&P was considering downgrading many EU members. The announcement was made in the US in the late afternoon and had a slight effect on the US markets, but the following morning, the Asian markets reacted and dropped. The European markets took in the news, but in the meantime other news from the EU emerged, which counteracted the earlier news and there was a smaller market reaction then expected.
Knowing which markets are trading at the time you are evaluating information and which markets are trading when you enter a trade is vitally important to your success as a trader.To see when markets overlap, let's have a look at the different forex trading times in each main financial center across the globe. (Times are displayed according to EST)
So here are the times when two trading sessions overlap: 
New York and London: from 8 am to 12 am (EST)
Sydney and Tokyo: from 7 pm to 2 am
London and Tokyo markets overlap one hour, from 3 am to 4 am.
Forex Trading opens in New Zealand, followed by Australia, Asia (and particularly Japan), the Middle East, Europe (with London being the main financial center) and America.
What does this mean? Trading EUR/USD, GBP/USD, or USD/CHF between 8 am and 12 am (EST) can lead to good results since markets for those currencies (European and American) are both active at the same time. This is when the largest volume of trades occurs, creating a greater chance of making significant profit in the forex market.
Another good time to trade is from 1 am to 3 am EST. As you can see in the table above, at that time, European markets are waking up while Asian markets are closing, offering good trade opportunities. The same goes for the 7 pm to 10 pm EST time period, when the Asian and Australian markets overlap.
Forex Trading opens in New Zealand, followed by Australia, Asia (and particularly Japan), the Middle East, Europe (with London being the main financial center) and America.
We can see that at around 5 am, trading stops in Asia while in Europe, the market is at its busiest time.
To see when markets overlap, let's have a look at the different forex trading times in each main financial center across the globe. (Times are displayed according to EST) So here are the times when two trading sessions overlap:
New York and London: from 8 am to 12 am (EST)
Sydney and Tokyo: from 7 pm to 2 am
London and Tokyo markets overlap one hour, from 3 am to 4 am.
What does this mean? Trading EUR/USD, GBP/USD, or USD/CHF between 8 am and 12 am (EST) can lead to good results since markets for those currencies (European and American) are both active at the same time. This is when the largest volume of trades occurs, creating a greater chance of making significant profit in the forex market.
Another good time to trade is from 1 am to 3 am EST. As you can see in the table above, at that time, European markets are waking up while Asian markets are closing, offering good trade opportunities. The same goes for the 7 pm to 10 pm EST time period, when the Asian and Australian markets overlap.
Also, you have probably noticed that from 4 pm to 6 pm EST, there is no interesting overlap. That’s when the US markets close without overlapping any other large market. At those hours, the volume of trades is much lower, offering less great trade opportunities.
You can thus see that while you can take advantage of a 24hr Forex Trading experience, some hours will allow for better opportunities than others.
Forex Trading Hours (EST):
Australia: 5pm - 1 am
Tokyo: 7 pm - 3 am
Singapore/Hong Kong: 9 pm - 5 am
Frankfurt: 2 am - 10 am
London: 3 am - 11 am
On the other side of the Atlantic, trading in the USA kicks off in New York at 8 am while the European market is coming to a close. Afterwards, the Australian is waking up again in Sidney completing one full trading day.Tokyo: 7 pm - 3 am
Singapore/Hong Kong: 9 pm - 5 am
Frankfurt: 2 am - 10 am
London: 3 am - 11 am
To see when markets overlap, let's have a look at the different forex trading times in each main financial center across the globe. (Times are displayed according to EST) So here are the times when two trading sessions overlap:
New York and London: from 8 am to 12 am (EST)
Sydney and Tokyo: from 7 pm to 2 am
London and Tokyo markets overlap one hour, from 3 am to 4 am.
What does this mean? Trading EUR/USD, GBP/USD, or USD/CHF between 8 am and 12 am (EST) can lead to good results since markets for those currencies (European and American) are both active at the same time. This is when the largest volume of trades occurs, creating a greater chance of making significant profit in the forex market.
Another good time to trade is from 1 am to 3 am EST. As you can see in the table above, at that time, European markets are waking up while Asian markets are closing, offering good trade opportunities. The same goes for the 7 pm to 10 pm EST time period, when the Asian and Australian markets overlap.
Also, you have probably noticed that from 4 pm to 6 pm EST, there is no interesting overlap. That’s when the US markets close without overlapping any other large market. At those hours, the volume of trades is much lower, offering less great trade opportunities.
You can thus see that while you can take advantage of a 24hr Forex Trading experience, some hours will allow for better opportunities than others.