Trading Session
Market Structure
What it means
The hours during which a market is open for trading. Forex runs 24/5 across global sessions; stocks have set exchange hours.
Example
The London forex session (8 a.m.-5 p.m. GMT) and New York session (1 p.m.-10 p.m. GMT) overlap from 1-5 p.m. GMT -- typically the highest-volume window for EUR/USD.
Mistake beginners make
Beginners trade forex at any hour and wonder why nothing moves. Outside the main sessions and their overlaps, volume and volatility collapse and trades stall or whip around.
Related terms
- Volume — The total number of shares, contracts, or coins traded during a period. It shows how much …
- Gap — A jump in price between one period's close and the next period's open, with no trading in …
- Liquidity — How easily you can buy or sell an asset without moving its price. High liquidity means lar…