FOREX MARKET

Forex market is a totally different beast as compared to the stock market. Stock market is open only for a fixed times usually from morning to the evening. After that it closes and trading stops. But forex markets never close. They are open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week except on weekends.

Continuous 24 hour action at the forex markets baffles many new traders. Forex markets have no central exchange. It is an Over the Counter (OTC) market that is spread over various locations in the world.

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.

The three major money centers that affect the forex markets everyday are namely: Asia, London and New York. We will call our three trading sessions, 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 table gives important times of the day that any forex trader needs to know: 00:00 GMT-Sydney Opens. 11:00 GMT-London opens. 15:00 GMT- London becomes very active. 17:00 GMT- London is active and New York opens. 18:00 GMT- London and Europe closes. 19:00 GMT- New York and Chicago getting ready for a close!

This overlap between London and New York is the time when major price action takes place. There is lot of volatility in the market and you can make many pips. London is the trend setter in both forex and fashion.