Forex Market Sessions
Stock trading and forex trading are altogether two totally different beasts. Stock exchanges are open only for a fixed time each day. You can only trade stocks during this time. On the other had the forex markets are open 24 hours, 5 days a week.
This continuous 24 hour trading makes forex markets somewhat confusing for the beginners. Forex is traded Over the Counter (OTC) and there is essentially no open and close of the market, many new traders find it hard to adjust.
As there is no open and close of the forex market, many new traders get confused and dont know when the best time when major price action takes place is? So they sit in front of the computer all the time and in the end simply exhaust themselves losing their stamina. A clever way is to divide the 24 hour day into three 8 hour sessions.
Again divide each 8 hour session in 4 hours by using 4 hour charts. As you will read this article, I will explain how this division is logical and can help you understand the forex markets. Forex markets are basically controlled by three money centers and these three sessions will help you identify the risk appetite and the price action for each.
These three money center that are central to the forex markets are: Asia, London and New York. So by dividing the 24 hours into three sessions we will call each session as the Asian, the London and the New York Session.
Asian FX Market Session: Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore are the main centers that constitute the Asian Session. Export corporations and Central Banks of these countries are trying to hedge their currency fluctuations. Due to this price action is jumpy, fades away and is not sustainable.
London Market Session: London is the center of the global forex markets. The price action that takes place during this session forms the trend in the rest of the day trading. London forex markets are deep and highly developed. London market is also assisted by Paris, Geneva and Frankfurt. Since lot of money is needed to move this market, these moves give a lot of information for the traders.
New York FX Market Session: New York is second biggest FX market after London. Both of these markets overlap in the morning when New York is opening and London is closing. This is the time for major action.
The following timings give important breakdown of the 24 hour forex markets: 00:00 GMT-Sydney is opening. 11:00 GMT-Sydney and Tokyo have closed while London opens. 15:00 GMT- London becomes active with lot of turnover. 17:00 GMT- London is still active and New York is opening. 18:00 GMT- London has closed. 19:00 GMT- New York is about to close!
The overlap between London and New York is when major price moves take place. London is in fact the trend setter in forex as well as fashion. - 23218
This continuous 24 hour trading makes forex markets somewhat confusing for the beginners. Forex is traded Over the Counter (OTC) and there is essentially no open and close of the market, many new traders find it hard to adjust.
As there is no open and close of the forex market, many new traders get confused and dont know when the best time when major price action takes place is? So they sit in front of the computer all the time and in the end simply exhaust themselves losing their stamina. A clever way is to divide the 24 hour day into three 8 hour sessions.
Again divide each 8 hour session in 4 hours by using 4 hour charts. As you will read this article, I will explain how this division is logical and can help you understand the forex markets. Forex markets are basically controlled by three money centers and these three sessions will help you identify the risk appetite and the price action for each.
These three money center that are central to the forex markets are: Asia, London and New York. So by dividing the 24 hours into three sessions we will call each session as the Asian, the London and the New York Session.
Asian FX Market Session: Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore are the main centers that constitute the Asian Session. Export corporations and Central Banks of these countries are trying to hedge their currency fluctuations. Due to this price action is jumpy, fades away and is not sustainable.
London Market Session: London is the center of the global forex markets. The price action that takes place during this session forms the trend in the rest of the day trading. London forex markets are deep and highly developed. London market is also assisted by Paris, Geneva and Frankfurt. Since lot of money is needed to move this market, these moves give a lot of information for the traders.
New York FX Market Session: New York is second biggest FX market after London. Both of these markets overlap in the morning when New York is opening and London is closing. This is the time for major action.
The following timings give important breakdown of the 24 hour forex markets: 00:00 GMT-Sydney is opening. 11:00 GMT-Sydney and Tokyo have closed while London opens. 15:00 GMT- London becomes active with lot of turnover. 17:00 GMT- London is still active and New York is opening. 18:00 GMT- London has closed. 19:00 GMT- New York is about to close!
The overlap between London and New York is when major price moves take place. London is in fact the trend setter in forex as well as fashion. - 23218
About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in Investing, Stocks and Forex Trading. Discover a revolutionary new Forex Robot.

