Global Market Trading Hours: Currencies, Stocks and Commodities
Global market trading hours in UTC for currencies, indices, commodities, shares and crypto, the daily breaks that matter, why the hours shift twice a year, and what the weekend close means for open positions.
Trading hours differ by market. Currencies trade almost continuously from Sunday evening to Friday evening; single shares trade only when their exchange is open; index and commodity CFDs sit in between. This page is the reference table. Why the hours matter for spreads and gaps is covered elsewhere.
Key Takeaways
- Currencies: roughly 24 hours a day, five days a week, moving between Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York.
- Index, energy and metals CFDs: near-continuous on weekdays with a short daily break, because they price off futures.
- Single shares: only while the underlying exchange is open.
- Crypto CFDs: through the weekend, on thinner liquidity.
- Everything except crypto closes for the weekend. Anything that happens then is priced into the first trade on reopening.
Currency Sessions
| Session | Approximate hours, UTC | Character |
| Sydney | 21:00 – 06:00 | Thinnest; AUD and NZD pairs most active |
| Tokyo | 00:00 – 09:00 | JPY pairs; often range-bound |
| London | 07:00 – 16:00 | Deepest liquidity; EUR and GBP pairs |
| New York | 12:00 – 21:00 | US data; USD pairs |
The market opens for the week around 21:00–22:00 UTC on Sunday and closes around the same time on Friday. The London–New York overlap, roughly 12:00–16:00 UTC, is when spreads on major pairs are tightest. Outside it, and especially between the New York close and the Tokyo open, spreads widen and slippage is more likely. How the sessions differ in behaviour is in why the London and New York sessions behave differently.
Other Markets
| Market | Approximate hours, UTC (standard time) | Notes |
| US shares (NVDA.US, APPLE.US) | 14:30 – 21:00 | 15:30 – 22:00 during US winter. Earnings usually land outside these hours |
| German shares (BMWd.DE) | 08:00 – 16:30 | |
| Index CFDs (US500, DE40, UK100) | Near 23 hours, Mon–Fri | Priced off futures; short daily break; specific hours per index |
| Energy (WTI, BRENT, NGAS) | Near 23 hours, Sun–Fri | Short daily break |
| Metals (XAUUSD, XAGUSD, XPDUSD) | Near 23 hours, Sun–Fri | Short daily break |
| Crypto CFDs (BTCUSD, ETHUSD) | 24/7, with a possible short maintenance break | Weekend liquidity thinner |
| Fixed Income | Not currently listed on the MT5 server | — |
MarketsAll's exact hours and daily breaks for each instrument are in its contract specification under Trade. The table above is standard time; the next section explains why that matters.
Why the Hours Move Twice a Year
Daylight saving changes shift the UTC hours of the US and European sessions, and the changes happen on different dates: the US moves in March and November, Europe in late March and late October, Australia in the opposite direction in October and April. For a few weeks each spring and autumn the usual relationship between your local time and a market's open is wrong.
Check the contract specification after every clock change. It takes a minute and it is the most common cause of a "why did the market open early" surprise.
What the Weekend Close Means
From Friday's close to Sunday's open, currency and CFD markets are shut and the world is not. Elections, policy announcements and geopolitical events during that window are priced entirely into the first trade on reopening, which can be far from Friday's close. A stop-loss inside that gap fills on the other side of it. Gap risk covers how to size for it.
Crypto CFDs are the exception. They trade through the weekend, but with fewer participants, so spreads widen and it takes less volume to move the price.
Why It Matters
Three practical consequences of the table:
- Cost changes by the hour. The same EURUSD position costs more to open at 22:00 UTC than at 14:00 UTC.
- A near-24-hour market is not a gap-free market. Index and commodity CFDs still close for the weekend.
- Shares freeze overnight; their news does not. A share CFD is exposed to an earnings release it cannot react to until the exchange opens.
What time does the forex market open?
For the week, around 21:00–22:00 UTC on Sunday, as the Sydney session begins. The exact UTC hour depends on daylight saving.
Which session is best for trading?
For major currency pairs, the London–New York overlap has the tightest spreads and deepest liquidity. "Best" otherwise depends on the instrument and the approach.
Can I trade indices at night?
Index CFDs are typically quoted close to 23 hours on weekdays, so yes, on thinner liquidity than during the home session.
Do trading hours differ on Web Trader and MT5?
No. Hours are set per instrument on the server and are the same on both platforms.
What happens to my open positions at the weekend?
They remain open and are exposed to any repricing when the market reopens. Swap is applied for the weekend on the triple-swap day.
Related Guides
What is currency trading · Spread · Slippage · Gap risk · Contract specifications on MT5
Put this into practice
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