High Volume Trading Hours for Futures Markets

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For a beginner to futures trading and sometimes even professional futures traders, keeping track of the trading hours for the various futures contracts can get a trifle overwhelming peculiarly when it comes to following the U.S. futures trading hours on the futures markets of your choice. Patc it is impressionable to hold up track of the trading hours for your favorite U.S. futures trading assets, the moment you switch to a new asset, traders need to pay attention to the particular asset's futures market trading hours.

Unequal stocks which opens at 0930 ET and closes at 1600 ET, or the OTC markets so much as forex which operates nearly 24 hours a day, with the futures markets, the trading hour can change depending on the asset Oregon the instrument that you are trading. This is one of the biggest factor and perhaps one of the most important. For good example, if you were to trade stocks, whether you trade Google or Apple, you know that you can trade anytime between the 0930 – 1600 ET time slots. With futures however, the timings can be different the present moment you shift from matchless commodity or asset to another.

With antithetic trading hours too comes the added complexness of the about actively traded hours for the futures markets which can differ from one asset to another. For futures day traders this can be a critical factor as you wouldn't want to open a position just when volumes are starting to slow down. Thence, futures day traders need to always stay connected top of the U.S. futures market trading hours for at to the lowest degree some of the major futures markets.

Most of the futures markets are listed on the CME rally and the timings are not fixed, meaning that the exchange can shift the futures trading hours. Thence it is up to the sidereal day trader's responsibility to keep cut across of any potential changes to futures grocery store hours trading. Typically exchanges start announcing changes to timings leastways three months before time which to an active futures day trader should give enough time to get used to the new trading hours. Futures traders who think that their day trading brokerage will inform them of some such changes tend to take a enormous risk. Professional traders always consider themselves to be a scholar of the market and are always in a eruditeness curve so it is for futures day traders as well, regardless of whether they trade full time or part time.

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The futures markets are known to have different trading hours even since the days of perdition trading, although such events were scarce, there were times when markets such as interest rates futures markets or the bond markets would personify shifted around.

Futures Trading Hours

Contingent on the markets you deal, the futures trading hours can shift around a bit. The following points are some of the key aspects to remember about the futures trading hours.

No matter what the futures market that you are trading, there is a 45-minute break
All exchange times (CME) are quoted in CST CT
Futures markets trade from Sunday – Friday
Contempt longer trading hours, market participation plays a big role in moving prices of the futures markets

Market	Trading Hours
Agriculture	19:00 – 07:45, 08:30 – 13:20
Cattle	08:30 – 13:05
Dairy	(Monday – Thu) 17:00 – 16:00, Fri 17:00 – 13:55
Softs	17:00 – 16:00
Zip	17:00 – 16:00
Equity Index	17:00 – 15:15, 15:30 – 16:00
Currency/FX	17:00 – 16:00
Interest Rates	17:00 – 16:00
Metals	17:00 – 16:00

Riddled details of other futures markets can be accessed from this link.

While the trading hours are shown above, in most cases the markets also have pre-market and after hours trading. Pre-market futures and after-hours futures trading are by and large applicable for fairness futures only it is applicable to other markets arsenic well such as Softs, agriculture etc. where at that place are specific trading times that are defined.

The pre-market futures trading hours are 30-minutes prior to the subjacent market open while the after-hours markets report the trading period in the futures markets aft the prescribed cash markets are blocked. Because the futures markets are open for much longer compared to the underlying commercialize trading hours, especially in equities, the pre-markets and after hours trading is often slow with moo trading volumes. Thus trading in the murder-market hours can go out the futures equivalent prices inclined to gaps and occasionally big price spikes that are not especial to the futures markets.

The trading hours can also differ based on how the underlying markets operate. For instance, if you were to trade wind gold futures, the underlying asset here would be the spot gold markets. Therefore, trading volume is evenly fan out out throughout the mean solar day in the chromatic futures markets.

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Gold futures trading volumes are more evenly distributed as the contracts track

Gold futures trading volumes are more equally distributed as the contracts racecourse

Why are off commercialize trading hours different?

Off market hours, alias the pre-market and after-hours markets have 2 major differences compared to the main session of the underlying plus, from the perspective of lepton trading. This is due to the fact that futures contracts are based happening the underlying plus or market for representative the E-Miniskirt S&P500 futures tracks the S&P500 index which is the underlying basket. Any trading that goes happening in the futures market when the main underlying market is not fully open makes information technology a proxy to the veridical market. To position this differently, the trading in the futures markets outside of the official trading hours doesn't accurately reflect connected the underlying market.

Another factor to mind is that trading volumes are generally glower during the off market hours in the electronic trading session, compared to the primary or official trading hours. This usually results in small ranges being established as trading interest is lower than usual resulting in a thinner order book. This makes the futures market in question vulnerable to sudden price movements, often labeled juicy feel trades where price posts brief yet sound movement in the markets for the most part on account of big orders. The low liquidity contributes to this phenomenon.

The off securities industry trading hours potty also differ when the futures markets are open just at that place is a local holiday in the underlying cash markets. For instance, you could trade the Nikkei 225 futures regular when the official securities market in Japan is closed. Such periods often lead to thin trading volumes and depending along how far prices touched, the official markets lean to gap up or down the next day.

High volume trading hours for the futures markets

When trading the futures markets, day traders ask to yield attention to the high volume trading hours. This is the period when the underlying markets are officially opened which results in higher participation in the futures markets, leading to higher volumes and liquidity. Such conditions are ideal for futures day traders who can then day trade the markets of their choice.

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To correctly select the primary session, traders dismiss embark on off by looking for at the cartesian product's exchange website which gives inside information on the physical science trading hours. The information can likewise be ground straight with the futures broker that you trade with. The futures markets trading hours can then be checked with the official trading hours of the underlying markets. For example, E-miniskirt S&A;P500 futures tracks the S&P500 stock index. The official trading hours for the U.S. markets are from 0930 – 1600 EST, making this the primary session to trade the E-miniskirt S&P500 futures.

Futures Trading Hours, high volume trading hours during official trading hours (E-mini S&P500)

Futures Trading Hours, high volume trading hours during official trading hours (E-miniskirt S&P500)

Trading the high volume trading periods can help oneself traders to take advantage of the highly watery trading conditions which is best suited for day trading strategies. Spell the authorised trading hours and the resulting high volume trading hours are more suited for stock index futures trading, futures traders too need to bear in listen the economic releases that give the axe impact trading volumes likewise.

The economic reports, as incomparable might know can vary from one and only futures plus to another, however depending happening the timing of the release of the report, volumes can significantly increase. This is specially true when trading Department of Agriculture, softs and other commodity futures products.

Take for example Crude vegetable oil futures. The prices in the futures market track the underlying spot crude oil markets. Therefore, trading volumes are equally distributed across the trading hours. However, the once a week EIA crude oil stock-take report means that trading volumes are higher on Thursday's and nearer to the clock time when the crude oil inventory report is released.

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Trading volumes increase closer to key economic report releases (Crude Oil)

Trading volumes addition nearer to key economic report releases (Crude Oil)

When trading commodity futures, traders need to focus on any cay efficient reports that lav atomic number 4 free on a uncommon day and time of the week which will often see higher trading volumes as market participation increases which allows day traders to profit from the higher volumes during a short period of time.

Although it is suggested to day trade in futures inside the high intensity or official trading hours, there are many events especially black swans that can move the market importantly during the disconnected market trading hours. Such periods see higher than usual trading volumes as trader interest increase in the product.

Higher than usual trading volumes on Nov 9th 2016

Higher than usual trading volumes connected Nov 9th 2016

The above chart shows how trading volumes remained systematically high throughout November 9^th when the U.S. presidential elections were held.

It is evident from the above that although the futures markets are open for much longer and trade on the far side the official trading hours especially for stock index markets, the trading volumes are often the highest during the official trading hours. Increased market participation results in higher trading volumes, which is most beneficial for futures day traders. While trading can represent done outside of the official trading hours for the cash markets, the lower than usual trading volumes can pose risks to the futures day traders at multiplication.

No matter what futures markets you trade, IT is forever essential that the futures dealer starts off aside looking at the futures abridge trading hours and comparison the same with the official underlying John Cash market trading hours.