Beginner · Lesson 2 of 11 · 4 min video · 6 min read
When markets move: sessions and news
Markets are open almost all week, but they do not move the same way all day. Knowing when a market is busy, quiet or about to jump on news changes how you trade it.
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The three trading sessions
Forex trades 24 hours a day from Sunday night to Friday night, passing from one financial centre to the next. Times below are UK time.
| Session | Roughly (UK time) | What it is like |
|---|---|---|
| Asia (Tokyo, Sydney) | 00:00 to 09:00 | Usually quieter. Yen and Australian dollar pairs move most. Ranges are often small. |
| London | 08:00 to 17:00 | The busiest forex session. Big moves often start in the first hour or two. |
| New York | 13:00 to 22:00 | US data and the US stock market open (14:30 UK most of the year). Very busy while London is still open. |
The UK and US change their clocks on different dates in spring and autumn, so for a couple of weeks a year the New York times above shift by an hour.
The London and New York overlap (about 13:00 to 17:00 UK) is usually the busiest, most liquid time of the day. Many traders only trade London and this overlap.
Why the time of day matters
- Quiet times have smaller moves and more false signals. A strategy that works in London can fail in the middle of the Asian session.
- Spreads (the broker’s cost) are usually lowest when a market is busy and widest late at night and around news.
- Each market has its hours: the DAX (GER40) is busiest when Germany is open, the US indices when New York is open.
Gold often drifts in a small range overnight, then breaks out shortly after London opens at 08:00 UK. The Asian high and low are often the first levels it tests.
News releases
Big economic news can move a market more in one minute than in the whole hour before it. The biggest releases are interest-rate decisions, inflation (CPI), US jobs figures (Non-Farm Payrolls, usually the first Friday of the month) and central bank speeches.
- Check the calendar every morning before you trade.
- Many traders stay out from about 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after a high-impact release.
- If you are already in a trade, decide before the news whether to close it, keep it or tighten the stop.
- Around big news, price can jump straight past your stop loss. This is called slippage, and your loss can be bigger than you planned.
- Spreads can widen a lot for a minute or two after the release.
Weekends and holidays
Forex, metals, indices and oil close for the weekend. Price can open on Sunday night well away from Friday’s close (a gap). Crypto trades all weekend. Bank holidays in the UK or US make markets quieter and less predictable.
Common mistakes
- Trading at 2am because you are awake, not because the market is moving.
- Opening a trade a minute before a big news release.
- Holding big positions over the weekend without thinking about gaps.
Check yourself
1. Which part of the day is usually busiest for forex?
The London and New York overlap, about 13:00 to 17:00 UK time.
2. Why can your loss be bigger than your stop loss around news?
Price can jump past your stop (slippage), so you are closed at a worse price.
3. What is a weekend gap?
When a market opens on Sunday night at a different price from Friday’s close, because news happened while it was shut.
Try it on BTM
For education only, not financial advice. Trading carries a high risk of losing money, especially with leverage. Only trade with money you can afford to lose.
For educational purposes only. Nothing here is financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and trading carries a high risk of losing money, so only trade with money you can afford to lose. Read the risk warning.