What Time Does The UK Stock Market Open?

What time does the UK stock market open

The exchange market is open for business all hours of the day. You are therefore granted access to the biggest market globally that’s open to trade. Beginning 10 PM BST with the Sydney Trading session, the Tokyo trading session close upon Sydney’s heels, coterminous and concurrent with contemporary bourses abroad – till 10 PM BST Friday, when the NY session terminates for the day. The chief benefit accruing from the Forex hours is that UK currency traders can spot forex trading breaks, sometimes extraneous to UK trading hours. This is made possible by the division of the Forex trading market into three major trading centres – Tokyo Trading session, the London Trading Session, and the New York Trading Session. Sydney is the fourth largest trading centre globally. Now we see how it is that UK currency traders can trade at any hour of the trading day. Crucially, the trading volume is unequally distributed amongst the three major trading sessions. So what time does the UK stock market open? We address this shortly. 

Trading hours UK: what time does the stock market open and close in the UK?

The best time to trade Forex globally is during the London trading hours. The most amount of activity occurs during this period. You have the day’s most liquid period when the London trading hours overlap with the New York trading hours. 

Trading times in the UK are the same as normal business hours obtainable in London. What time does the UK stock market open? 8 AM BST/British Standard Time. What time does the stock market close in the UK? In other words -what is the stock market close time UK? 4 PM BST. However, forex trading is accessible with the Tokyo Trading session opening at 1 PM BST, and the New York trading session closing at 10 PM BST.

GBP is open to trading round the clock 

Unsurprisingly, GBP crosses will be most active during London Trading hours. Whilst GBP crosses are traded actively round the clock, the most trading volume corresponds to the official period the LSE is open for business. It is during UK business hours that the most significant GBP – impacting trading news expects release. We get an even clearer idea of the central role of the London Trading session when we consider various trading sessions in terms of BST. 

Sydney trading session 10 PM, BST – 7, AM BST; Tokyo trading session 1 AM BST – 10 AM BST; London trading session 8 AM BST – 4 PM BST; New York session 1 PM BST – 10 PM BST. 

The UK trading session goes concurrently with the US trading session for close to four hours. Whilst these hours there is trading to such a degree that liquidity grows by leaps and bounds – resulting in further trading opportunities. 

Daylight Saving Time and its concomitant effects have to be borne in mind from the last Sunday in September. The UK goes back by 1 hour when the DST kicks in. 

Which is the best time to trade Forex?

Hypothetically, the most appropriate time to trade is when the market is most active. This would be the hours when the most amount of trading takes place. Such a trading climate gives you access to tighter spreads and high liquidity. Naturally, the best time to trade would be during overlaps between the various markets. The London and New York sessions experience the most concurrence. What time does Nasdaq open GMT? What are the Nasdaq trading hours UK? Answering such queries leads to the best trading decisions. 

There is also a great deal of volatility while all this trading, and news announcements and releases may widen initially tighter spreads. However, risk management can rein in volatility, and make it the principal driver of profitability. 

Mid-week, there’s no rival to steal London’s thunder. But, then, the London reading session is the busiest. Generally, when the weekend is closest, there’s low volatility and, correspondingly, lower liquidity. This holds truest for Friday trading. 

Britannia Rules: London’s European Forex Session 

The European trading session assumes control , allowing activity in the market even as the Asian trading hours draw to their close. The European time zone is packed, and there should have been ‘spoiling for choices’, even as experts must have agonised over which financial capital ought to have the crowning glory. The distinction fell to London, which has long since been defining European trading session parameters. Formal London business hours running from 7.30 AM to 3.30 PM GMT, there has been an understandable extension given the need to accommodate Continental financial capitals. Therefore, what has come to be taken as ‘European trading hours’ stretches from 7 AM to 4 PM. 

Conclusion 

While trading currencies, a trader is first compelled to decide if high/low volatility would suit their trading style best. When you are gunning for a more potent price action, you have to root for trading sessions, concurrence times or economic releases. On the other hand, when you have a pronounced interest in volatility, you would like to consider the times that are best suited for trading. Subsequently, you will have to decide the most productive time frames for your preferred FX pairs. 

The Best insight, perhaps, is that volatility after the best trades remains relatively high, though the markets are offline. So you just have to tune in to the next market relevant to your preferred currency pair.