The 24-Hour Forex Trading Day --- Updated

Beginner Questions
1

[B]The 24-Hour Forex Trading Day — SUMMER (April - September) — All times are GMT.[/B]

ASIAN/PACIFIC SESSION begins at 20:00 GMT ------ (North American/Asian overlap: 20:00 - 21:00 GMT)

[B]20:00 - New Zealand[/B]: business day begins (8am NZST)

[B]21:00 - New Zealand[/B]: stock exchange and banks open (9am NZST)

[B]-- U.S. and Canada[/B]: business day ends (5pm EDT)

[B]22:00 - Australia[/B]: business day begins (8am AEST)

[B]22:45 - New Zealand[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 10:45am NZST)

[B]23:00 - Japan and Korea[/B]: business day begins (8am local time)

[B]23:30 - Australia[/B]: banks open (9:30am AEST)

[B]23:50 - Japan[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 8:50am JST)

[B]00:00 - Australia[/B]: stock exchange opens (10am AEST)

[B]-- Japan[/B]: stock exchanges and banks open (9am JST)

[B]-- Korea[/B]: stock exchange opens (9am KST)

[B]-- Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan[/B]: business day begins (8am local time)

[B]00:30 - Korea[/B]: banks open (9:30am KST)

[B]-- Singapore[/B]: stock exchange opens (8:30am SGT)

[B]01:00 - Taiwan[/B]: stock exchange and banks open (9am CST)

[B]01:30 - Australia[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 11:30am AEST)

[B]-- Singapore[/B]: banks open (9:30am SGT)

[B]02:00 - Japan[/B]: stock exchanges (Tokyo and Osaka) close for 90 minutes (from 11am to 12:30pm JST)

[B]-- Hong Kong[/B]: stock exchange and banks open (10am HKT)

[B]03:30 - Japan[/B]: stock exchanges re-open (12:30pm JST)

[B]04:00 - New Zealand[/B]: stock exchange closes (4pm NZST)

[B]04:30 - New Zealand[/B]: banks close (4:30pm NZST)

[B]-- Hong Kong[/B]: stock exchange closes for 2 hours (from 12:30pm to 2:30pm HKT)

[B]05:00 - New Zealand[/B]: business day ends (5pm NZST)

[B]05:30 - Taiwan[/B]: stock exchange closes (1:30pm CST)

[B]05:45 - Switzerland[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 7:45am CEST)

EUROPEAN SESSION begins at 06:00 GMT ------ (Asian/European overlap: 06:00 - 09:00 GMT)

[B]06:00 - Central Europe[/B]: business day begins (8am CEST)

[B]-- Italy[/B]: stock exchange opens (8am CEST)

[B]-- Spain and Norway[/B]: banks open (8am CEST)

[B]-- Australia[/B]: stock exchange and banks close (4pm AEST)

[B]-- Japan[/B]: stock exchanges and banks close (3pm JST)

[B]-- Korea[/B]: stock exchange closes (3pm KST)

[B]06:30 - Hong Kong[/B]: stock exchange re-opens (2:30pm HKT)

[B]-- Switzerland and Italy[/B]: banks open (8:30am CEST)

[B]-- Spain[/B]: stock exchange opens (8:30am CEST)

[B]07:00 - Australia[/B]: business day ends (5pm AEST)

[B]-- Singapore[/B]: banks close (3pm SGT)

[B]-- U.K[/B].: business day begins and stock exchange opens (8am BST)

[B]-- Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway[/B]: stock exchanges open (9am CEST)

[B]-- Germany, France, Belgium and Netherlands[/B]: banks open (9am CEST)

[B]07:10 - Switzerland[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 9:10am CEST)

[B]07:15 - Switzerland[/B]: stock exchange opens (9:15am CEST)

[B]07:30 - Korea and Taiwan[/B]: banks close (4:30pm KST and 3:30pm CST)

[B]-- Sweden[/B]: stock exchange and banks open (9:30am CEST)

[B]08:00 - Japan and Korea[/B]: business day ends (5pm local time)

[B]-- Hong Kong[/B]: stock exchange and banks close (4pm HKT)

[B]-- U.K. and Denmark[/B]: banks open (9am BST and 10am CEST)

[B]-- Euro-zone[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 10am CEST)

[B]08:30 - U.K[/B].: economic data (news) released (typically 9:30am BST)

[B]09:00 - Singapore[/B]: stock exchange closes and the business day ends (5pm SGT)

[B]-- Hong Kong and Taiwan[/B]: business day ends (5pm local time)

[B]-- Euro-zone[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 11am CEST)

[B]11:00 - Canada[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 7am EDT)

NORTH AMERICAN SESSION begins at 12:00 GMT ------ (European/North American overlap: 12:00 - 16:00 GMT)

[B]12:00 - U.S. and Canada[/B]: business day begins (8am EDT)

[B]-- Spain[/B]: banks close (2pm CEST)

[B]12:30 - U.S. and Canada[/B]: economic data (news) released (8:30am EDT)

[B]13:00 - Sweden[/B]: banks close (3pm CEST)

[B]-- U.S[/B].: banks open (9am EST)

[B]13:30 - Norway[/B]: banks close (3:30pm CEST)

[B]-- U.S. and Canada[/B]: stock exchanges open (9:30am EDT)

[B]-- Canada[/B]: banks open (9:30am EDT)

[B]14:00 - Germany, Italy, Belgium and Denmark[/B]: banks close (4pm CEST)

[B]-- U.S. and Canada[/B]: economic data (news) released (10am EDT)

[B]14:30 - France and Switzerland[/B]: banks close (4:30pm CEST)

[B]-- Norway[/B]: stock exchange closes (4:30pm CEST)

[B]15:00 - U.K. and Netherlands[/B]: banks close (4pm BST and 5pm CEST)

[B]-- Denmark[/B]: stock exchange closes (5pm CEST)

[B]15:30 - U.K[/B].: stock exchange closes (4:30pm BST)

[B]-- France, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden[/B]: stock exchanges close (5:30pm CEST)

[B]15:35 - Spain[/B]: stock exchange closes (5:35pm CEST)

[B]15:40 - Italy[/B]: stock exchange closes (5:40pm CEST)

[B]16:00 - U.K[/B].: business day ends (5pm BST)

[B]-- Central Europe[/B]: business day ends (6pm CEST) except German stock exchange

[B]18:00 - Germany[/B]: stock exchange (Deutsche Boerse) closes (8pm CEST)

[B]19:00 - U.S[/B].: banks close (3pm EDT)

[B]20:00 - Asian/Pacific region[/B]: a new business day begins in New Zealand (8am NZST)

[B]-- U.S. and Canada[/B]: stock exchanges close (4pm EDT)

[B]20:30 - Canada[/B]: banks close (4:30pm EDT)

[B]21:00 - U.S. and Canada[/B]: business day ends (5pm EDT)

[B]Notes[/B]

[B]1.[/B] Times shown in the left column of the table are GMT.

[B]2.[/B] Nominal 8am-5pm business hours are shown for most countries in the table, above. These nominal business hours represent a general rule, but there are local exceptions.

[B]3.[/B] Bank hours shown are for retail banks, which typically close overnight in all countries. The largest commercial banks, which handle almost all spot forex volume, maintain 24-hour trading desks, and therefore never close (with the possible exception of the weekend hours from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, plus certain holidays).
[B]
4.[/B] Times shown for the release of economic data (news) are the most frequently occurring times, but are not the only times. Refer to the forex news calendar provided by Forex Factory (Forex Calendar @ Forex Factory), or other sources, for a complete list of news releases for 7 major markets for the current week.

[B]5.[/B] Stock exchange opening and closing times were obtained from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)
(http://www.world-exchanges.org/WFE/home.Asp?nav=ie). The WFE is the trade organization for regulated securities and derivatives exchanges and their clearing houses; as such, it is the definitive source for information on these financial institutions.

[B]6.[/B] The stock exchanges referenced in the table are:

[ul]
[li]New Zealand Exchange, Ltd. (NZX); Major index: NZX 50
[/li][li] Australian Securities Exchange (ASX); Major index: S&P/ASX 200
[/li]

[li] Tokyo Stock Exchange Group, Inc. (TSE); Major index: Nikkei 225
[/li][li] Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE)
[/li][li] Singapore Exchange (SGX); Major index: Straits Times Index
[/li][li] Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKX); Major index: Hang Seng
[/li][li] Korea Exchange (KRX); Major index: KRX 100
[/li][li] Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE); Major index: TAIEX
[/li]

[li] Deutsche Boerse, AG (Germany); Major index: XETRA DAX
[/li][li] NYSE Euronext (Belgium, France, Netherlands and Portugal); Major index: CAC 40 (France)
[/li][li] SIX Swiss Exchange (SWX); Major index: SMI
[/li][li] BME Spanish Exchanges (BME)
[/li][li] Borsa Italiana SpA (Italy); Major index: S&P/MIB
[/li][li] Nasdaq OMX (OMX) (Denmark and Sweden); Major index: NDAQ
[/li][li] Oslo Bors, ASA (Norway); Major index: OSEBX
[/li][li] London Stock Exchange (LSE); Major index: FTSE 100
[/li]

[li] TMX Group (Toronto Stock Exchange - TSX); Major index: S&P/TSX Composite
[/li][li] NYSE Euronext (New York Stock Exchange - NYSE); Major index: DJIA
[/li][li] Nasdaq OMX (Nasdaq Stock Market - NASDAQ); Major index: NASDAQ 100
[/li][/ul]

[B]7.[/B] Time zones referenced in the table are:

[ul]
[li]NZST - New Zealand Standard Time (GMT + 12 hours)
[/li][li] AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time (GMT + 10 hours)
[/li]

[li] JST – Japanese Standard Time (GMT + 9 hours)
[/li][li] KST – Korean Standard Time (GMT + 9 hours)
[/li][li] SGT – Singapore Time (GMT + 8 hours)
[/li][li] HKT – Hong Kong Time (GMT + 8 hours)
[/li][li] CST – Chinese Standard Time (Taiwan) (GMT + 8 hours)
[/li]

[li] CEST - Central European Summer Time (GMT + 2 hour)
[/li][li] BST – British Summer Time (GMT + 1 hour)
[/li]

[li] EDT – U.S./Canadian Eastern Daylight Time (GMT - 4 hours)
[/li][/ul]

[B]8.[/B] If you find errors in this Table, contact me via Private Message.

3

Sharing is caring. Thanks.

4

Seasonal time changes (spring and fall) affect the opening and closing times of banks, stock exchanges and other business entities. In the round of changes just completed, Europe and North America turned their clocks back an hour; Australia and New Zealand turned their clocks forward one hour; and Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong (and their neighbors) stood pat.

So, once again, it’s time to post an updated list of all the openings and closings in a 24-hour period which bear on the worldwide forex market.

I’ll post the update shortly.

5

[B]The 24-Hour Forex Trading Day — WINTER (November - March) — All times are GMT.[/B]

ASIAN/PACIFIC SESSION begins at 19:00 GMT ------ (North American/Asian overlap: 19:00 - 22:00 GMT)

[B]19:00 - New Zealand[/B]: business day begins (8am NZDT)

[B]20:00 - New Zealand[/B]: stock exchange and banks open (9am NZDT)

[B]21:00 - Australia[/B]: business day begins (8am AEDT)

[B]21:45 - New Zealand[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 10:45am NZDT)

[B]22:00 - U.S. and Canada[/B]: business day ends (5pm EST)

[B]22:30 - Australia[/B]: banks open (9:30am AEDT)

[B]23:00 - Japan and Korea[/B]: business day begins (8am local time)

[B]-- Australia[/B]: stock exchange opens (10am AEDT)

[B]23:50 - Japan[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 8:50am JST)

[B]00:00 - Japan[/B]: stock exchanges and banks open (9am JST)

[B]-- Korea[/B]: stock exchange opens (9am KST)

[B]-- Singapore[/B], [B]Hong Kong[/B] and [B]Taiwan[/B]: business day begins (8am local time)

[B]00:30 - Korea[/B]: banks open (9:30am KST)

[B]-- Singapore[/B]: stock exchange opens (8:30am SGT)

[B]-- Australia[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 11:30am AEDT)

[B]01:00 - Taiwan[/B]: stock exchange and banks open (9am CST)

[B]01:30 - Singapore[/B]: banks open (9:30am SGT)

[B]02:00 - Japan[/B]: stock exchanges (Tokyo and Osaka) close for 90 minutes (from 11am to 12:30pm JST)

[B]-- Hong Kong[/B]: stock exchange and banks open (10am HKT)

[B]03:00 - New Zealand[/B]: stock exchange closes (4pm NZDT)

[B]03:30 - New Zealand[/B]: banks close (4:30pm NZDT)

[B]-- Japan[/B]: stock exchanges re-open (12:30pm JST)

[B]04:00 - New Zealand[/B]: business day ends (5pm NZDT)

[B]04:30 - Hong Kong[/B]: stock exchange closes for 2 hours (from 12:30pm to 2:30pm HKT)

[B]05:00 - Australia[/B]: stock exchange and banks close (4pm AEDT)

[B]05:30 - Taiwan[/B]: stock exchange closes (1:30pm CST)

[B]06:00 - Japan[/B]: stock exchanges and banks close (3pm JST)

[B]-- Korea[/B]: stock exchange closes (3pm KST)

[B]-- Australia[/B]: business day ends (5pm AEDT)

[B]06:30 - Hong Kong[/B]: stock exchange re-opens (2:30pm HKT)

[B]06:45 - Switzerland[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 7:45am CET)

EUROPEAN SESSION begins at 07:00 GMT ------ (Asian/European overlap: 07:00 - 09:00 GMT)

[B]07:00 - Central Europe[/B]: business day begins (8am CET)

[B]-- Italy[/B]: stock exchange opens (8am CET)

[B]-- Spain[/B] and [B]Norway[/B]: banks open (8am CET)

[B]-- Singapore[/B]: banks close (3pm SGT)

[B]07:30 - Korea[/B] and [B]Taiwan[/B]: banks close (4:30pm KST and 3:30pm CST)

[B]-- Switzerland[/B] and [B]Italy[/B]: banks open (8:30am CET)

[B]-- Spain[/B]: stock exchange opens (8:30am CET)

[B]08:00 - Japan[/B] and [B]Korea[/B]: business day ends (5pm local time)

[B]-- Hong Kong[/B]: stock exchange and banks close (4pm HKT)

[B]-- U.K.[/B]: business day begins and stock exchange opens (8am GMT)

[B]-- Germany[/B], [B]France[/B], [B]Belgium[/B], [B]Netherlands[/B], [B]Denmark[/B] and [B]Norway[/B]: stock exchanges open (9am CET)

[B]-- Germany[/B], [B]France[/B], [B]Belgium[/B] and [B]Netherlands[/B]: banks open (9am CET)

[B]08:10 - Switzerland[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 9:10am CET)

[B]08:15 - Switzerland[/B]: stock exchange opens (9:15am CET)

[B]08:30 - Sweden[/B]: stock exchange and banks open (9:30am CET)

[B]09:00 - Singapore[/B]: stock exchange closes and the business day ends (5pm SGT)

[B]-- Hong Kong[/B] and [B]Taiwan[/B]: business day ends (5pm local time)

[B]-- U.K.[/B] and [B]Denmark[/B]: banks open (9am GMT and 10am CET)

[B]-- Euro-zone[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 10am CET)

[B]09:30 - U.K.[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 9:30am GMT)

[B]10:00 - Euro-zone[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 11am CET)

[B]12:00 - Canada[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 7am EST)

NORTH AMERICAN SESSION begins at 13:00 GMT ------ (European/North American overlap: 13:00 - 17:00 GMT)

[B]13:00 - U.S.[/B] and [B]Canada[/B]: business day begins (8am EST)

[B]-- Spain[/B]: banks close (2pm CET)

[B]13:30 - U.S.[/B] and[B] Canada[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 8:30am EST)

[B]14:00 - Sweden[/B]: banks close (3pm CET)

[B]-- U.S.[/B]: banks open (9am EST)

[B]14:30 - Norway[/B]: banks close (3:30pm CET)

[B]-- U.S.[/B] and [B]Canada[/B]: stock exchanges open (9:30am EST)

[B]-- Canada[/B]: banks open (9:30am EST)

[B]15:00 - Germany[/B], [B]Italy[/B],[B] Belgium[/B] and [B]Denmark[/B]: banks close (4pm CET)

[B]-- U.S.[/B] and [B]Canada[/B]: economic data (news) released (typically 10am EST)

[B]15:30 - France[/B] and [B]Switzerland[/B]: banks close (4:30pm CET)

[B]-- Norway[/B]: stock exchange closes (4:30pm CET)

[B]16:00 - U.K.[/B] and [B]Netherlands[/B]: banks close (4pm GMT and 5pm CET)

[B]-- Denmark[/B]: stock exchange closes (5pm CET)

[B]16:30 - U.K.[/B]: stock exchange closes (4:30pm GMT)

[B]-- France[/B], [B]Switzerland[/B],[B] Belgium[/B], [B]Netherlands[/B] and [B]Sweden[/B]: stock exchanges close (5:30pm CET)

[B]16:35 - Spain[/B]: stock exchange closes (5:35pm CET)

[B]16:40 - Italy[/B]: stock exchange closes (5:40pm CET)

[B]17:00 - U.K.[/B]: business day ends (5pm GMT)

[B]-- Central Europe[/B]: business day ends (except German stock exchange) (6pm CET)

[B]19:00 - Germany[/B]: stock exchange (Deutsche Boerse) closes (8pm CET)

[B]-- Asian/Pacific region[/B]: a new business day begins in New Zealand (8am NZDT)

[B]20:00 - U.S.[/B]: banks close (3pm EST)

[B]21:00 - U.S.[/B] and [B]Canada[/B]: stock exchanges close (4pm EST)

[B]21:30 - Canada[/B]: banks close (4:30pm EST)

[B]22:00 - U.S.[/B] and [B]Canada[/B]: business day ends (5pm EST)

[B]Notes[/B]

[B]1.[/B] Times shown in the left column of the table are GMT.

[B]2.[/B] Nominal 8am-5pm business hours are shown for most countries in the table, above. These nominal business hours represent a general rule, but there are local exceptions.

[B]3.[/B] Bank hours shown are for retail banks, which typically close overnight in all countries. The largest commercial banks, which handle almost all spot forex volume, maintain 24-hour trading desks, and therefore never close (with the possible exception of the weekend hours from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, plus certain holidays).

[B]4.[/B] Times shown for the release of economic data (news) are the most frequently occuring times, but are not the only times. Refer to the forex news calendar provided by Forex Factory (Forex Calendar @ Forex Factory), or other sources, for a complete list of news releases for 7 major markets for the current week.

[B]5.[/B] Stock exchange opening and closing times were obtained from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)
(http://www.world-exchanges.org/WFE/home.Asp?nav=ie). The WFE is the trade organization for regulated securities and derivatives markets and their clearing houses; as such, it is the definitive source for information on these financial institutions.

[B]6.[/B] The stock exchanges referenced in the table are:

[ul]
[li]New Zealand Exchange, Ltd. (NZX); Major index: NZX 50
[/li][li]Australian Securities Exchange (ASX); Major index: S&P/ASX 200
[/li]

[li]Tokyo Stock Exchange Group, Inc. (TSE); Major index: Nikkei 225
[/li][li]Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE)
[/li][li]Singapore Exchange (SGX); Major index: Straits Times Index
[/li][li]Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKX); Major index: Hang Seng
[/li][li]Korea Exchange (KRX); Major index: KRX 100
[/li][li]Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE); Major index: TAIEX
[/li]

[li]Deutsche Boerse, AG (Germany); Major index: XETRA DAX
[/li][li]NYSE Euronext (Belgium, France, Netherlands and Portugal); Major index: CAC 40 (France)
[/li][li]SIX Swiss Exchange (SWX); Major index: SMI
[/li][li]BME Spanish Exchanges (BME)
[/li][li]Borsa Italiana SpA (Italy); Major index: S&P/MIB
[/li][li]Nasdaq OMX (OMX) (Denmark and Sweden); Major index: NDAQ
[/li][li]Oslo Bors, ASA (Norway); Major index: OSEBX
[/li][li]London Stock Exchange (LSE); Major index: FTSE 100
[/li]

[li]TMX Group (Toronto Stock Exchange - TSX); Major index: S&P/TSX Composite
[/li][li]NYSE Euronext (New York Stock Exchange - NYSE); Major index: DJIA
[/li][li]Nasdaq OMX (Nasdaq Stock Market - NASDAQ); Major index: NASDAQ 100
[/li][/ul]

[B]7.[/B] Time zones referenced in the table are:

[ul]
[li]NZDT - New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT = GMT + 13 hours)
[/li][li]AEDT - Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT = GMT + 11 hours)
[/li]

[li]JST – Japanese Standard Time (JST = GMT + 9 hours)
[/li][li]KST – Korean Standard Time (KST = GMT + 9 hours)
[/li][li]SGT – Singapore Time (SGT = GMT + 8 hours)
[/li][li]HKT – Hong Kong Time (HKT = GMT + 8 hours)
[/li][li]CST – Chinese Standard Time (Taiwan) (CST = GMT + 8 hours)
[/li]

[li]CET – Central European Time (CET = GMT + 1 hour)
[/li][li]GMT – Greenwich Mean Time (U.K.)
[/li]

[li]EST – U.S./Canadian Eastern Standard Time (EST = GMT - 5 hours)
[/li][/ul]

[B]8.[/B] Errors? Contact me via Private Message.

6

Thank you Clint,

I’ve always thought of you as one of the contributors with the best quality posts, and someone who really takes the effort and time to what he does.

I think this information could be a sticky thread/post, or be somewhere in the forum as a subsection.

Just sayin’ :slight_smile: