Weekend trading on weekends is a growing field of finance. Forex weekend trading hours are much longer than the traditional work week. Without a central market, exchange rates can be traded wherever global markets operate, be it London, New York, Hong Kong or Sydney. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may also be traded over the weekend for similar reasons. Some brokerages also offer weekend trading on indices as weekly trading hourly trading continues to increase. We detail some markets on weekend trading, choosing a strategy, and some benefits and risks to consider.
Can I trade on weekends?
There is a misconception that you cannot trade on weekends. Perhaps this is because many people in the financial world don’t want precious Saturdays and Sundays. Nasdaq Weekend Trading and Indian Trading and the US Stock Exchange are all off the cards from 16:00 am on Friday to 9:30 am on Monday.
But technology has been the catalyst for globalization, and not everyone in the world works on the same schedule. For example, trading hours in the Middle East are Sunday to Thursday, and in some places Saturday to Wednesday.
The answer is yes. You can start trading online over the weekend. In fact, weekend trading in binary options, currencies, stocks, CFDs and futures is growing rapidly.
The most popular indices for the weekend are:
- DFM Index – This index is based on the Dubai Stock Exchange, one of the leading exchanges in the United Arab Emirates.
- Kuwait Stock Exchange – Kuwait’s national stock exchange and includes the largest corporations, banks, insurance companies and real estate.
- Tadawul Index – This is the only stock exchange located in Saudi Arabia.
- Tel Aviv 25 Index – Comprises the top 25 companies by market capitalization on the Israeli Tel Aviv Exchange.
In addition to the above, some brokers are now offering weekend trading on European and US indices including FTSE, DAX and even Wall Street. Be sure to read the weekend trading terms, especially if you use weekend losses. For example, stop loss setups on weekdays in IG will not trigger on weekends. At the same time, trades made over the weekend may be disclosed during the official opening hours of the market. These conditions need to be understood as they can play an important role in your strategy. As more brokers start offering weekend deals, the gap between how brokers operate will only grow.
Why trade on the weekend?
So while there is a weekend trading market, participating or not is an entirely different question. There are several reasons:
- Strategy friendly – Some strategies pay well many weeks, while performing better on weekends. For example, open Asian markets behave differently than many Western markets. This is in the hands of the specific trader as the strategy is better suited for different market conditions.
- More Trades = More Profits – Usually, although not always, the more time you invest in trading, the more profit you have. When it comes to choosing between chores and making money, many people choose chores.
- Flexibility – In some cases midweek trading is not an option. Weekends are ideal for those with busy schedules and weekday commitments. You are free to choose the time that suits you.
- Focus – If your week is busy, weekends can be distracting. This can lead to increased focus and stronger trading decisions.
Restrictions on weekend trading
Despite the numerous benefits of the Weekend Deals offer, some limitations remain. The most problematic ones are:
- Limited Offer – Fewer assets available on weekends. If you have a good understanding of the news and tools and want to place trades, you may run into problems. For example, Nokia, Ford Motors and Twitter all trade on the New York Stock Exchange over the weekend. However, trading on price movements using technical analysis should still be profitable.
- Small volume – Forex weekend trading hours stretch across Saturday and Sunday. Even as London closes stores, Hong Kong is still going strong. Weekend gold and oil trading markets are very similar. The problem is that at some point the trading volume is very low. This results in a flat market and unhelpful charts.
- Timezone – This restriction is self-explanatory. Your body clock may not look favorably when you trade on the weekend. Stock exchanges in the Middle East, for example, operate during less friendly hours if you live in the UK or the US. If you don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night, you might want to think twice.
- Broker Hours – Many brokerage firms take the view that there aren’t enough clients to warrant being open over the weekend. This means you need to check your broker’s trading hours. If they’re not open, you’ll have to head elsewhere. 24option, Metatrader, Scottrade, Etrade and FXCM all offer weekend trading platforms, as do IG and Nadex.
- Risk of Volatility – Volatility promises many opportunities to profit traders, but it also comes with risks. Because normal market participants are inactive, the difference between the bid price and the stock price is often quite large. This leaves some traders confused.
Do weekends affect your trading strategy?
Yes that’s right. Saturday and Sunday markets can behave in unique ways as a result of the profits being consumed by the big market participants over the weekend. Volatility and volatility increase.
This means you will need to adapt your strategy to new market conditions. Or, you may want a unique weekend trading strategy.
Below are a few carefully designed strategies for weekend trading.
Closing Gap – Gap Trading Strategy
Market conditions are ideal for gap trading forex and options strategies this weekend. A gap is simply an increase in price. At some point, something moves the market, causing it to rise or fall, pushing the price up or down.
First, what causes the gap? Numerous things can cause it, from new movements to accelerated ones. One thing they ask for is a fair amount. The big players are out of play on the weekends, so they struggle to find these gaps. Instead, the gap narrows.
Only a few traders can create closing intervals. For whatever reason, few people invest in the same direction. The market soars and others are scratching their heads. So what do they do? They think it’s a mistake and trade in the opposite direction, profiting from the error.
- Upward Interval – Trader sells an asset. The market will fall and the gap will close.
- Downward Gap – Traders will buy the asset. The market will rise and the gap will close.
When a gap occurs in a small volume market, such as a weekend, it is likely to close.
Apply
You know the gap will be closed, so you have all the information you need to make a profit. you know:
- Price Target – The market will rise until the price reaches the level of the first candlestick that makes up the divergence. If there is a gap down, it goes up to the low of the previous candlestick. If there is a gap above, it will drop to the initial candlestick height.
- Expiration – You know that the market must reach your target price within the following time period. So you can trade high/low options. You can also pay more by trading one-touch options. Invest in options with a price target within the gap and shorter than the option period.
This strategy is simple and can be applied to currencies and commodities. All you need is a weekend trading chart to get you to work. You can also pursue weekend gap deals with EAs (experts).
Bollinger Bands
This is an effective strategy to add to your weekend arsenal. Bollinger Bands highlight price channels the market should not leave. On weekends, these price channels can be very accurate. It is an ideal foundation for your weekend strategy.
The band consists of three lines.
- Top line – Moving average plus twice the standard deviation. This acts as a resistor.
- Lower Bound – The moving average minus twice the standard deviation. This works as a support.
- Middle line – 20-period moving average. This can be support or resistance depending on whether the market is trading above or below the market.
Approaching the Bollinger Bands as a whole will cause the market to turn around.
Weekend Use
These bands often do their best on weekends. This is because there is more variety in the trading range due to weekly news events and big traders being able to launch new moves. When the standard transition changes, the upper and lower Bollinger Bands change. A strong move will extend the bands and push the boundaries of the trend. This can make predictions useless.
However, reducing volume over the weekend makes the market more stable. Quite a few traders jump into the movement and don’t bother with the status quo.
Apply
To implement your new strategy, you only need to do 3 steps.
- Charting – Decide on an instrument, then set up a price chart with Bollinger Bands.
- Patience – Now you can sit back and wait for the market to approach your band. You need to remain patient until the market reaches one of the 3 Bollinger Band lines.
- Predict – Now it’s time to enter your position where the market will change. For example, you could use a high/low option where you predict that the market will not breach the Bollinger bands.
It is ideal for both experienced traders and beginners as it is very simple to apply.
Alternatives
If you don’t want to spend your weekend trading bitcoin or the stock market, there are other ways to be more productive. The weekend is an opportunity to analyze past performance and prepare for the week.
Here are a few weekend endeavors worth exploring.
Education
Paul Tudor Jones aptly emphasized it. Practice makes perfect, but you need to absorb as much information as possible. So consider pursuing the following over the weekend.
- Courses – There are numerous online courses taught by veteran traders to help you master complex strategies.
- Books – There are many books and e-books that provide valuable advice and guidance. If you are looking for some of the most admired, see our Books page.
- Podcasts – If you’re busy on the weekend or driving by law takes a long time, why not turn to a podcast? You can find audio casts by property written and recorded by experts. One useful tip can differentiate a financial strategy from a profitable one.
Manual back-testing
There is no better way to predict how markets will behave in the future than by looking to the past. You can use these lazy Sunday hours to test potential strategies by simulating past market conditions.
It should be said that past performance is no guarantee of future performance, but it can be a strong indicator. If you head online at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, you can start planning.
Evaluation
When the market opens, you can often find yourself in a whirlwind of emotion and trading activity. Weekends take a step back. You can look back and highlight your mistakes.
This will allow you to implement a more effective trading plan next week. You may need to adjust your risk management strategy. Perhaps it’s time to try a different breakout strategy this week. So if you’re not interested in weekend stock trading, sit down and identify areas you need to improve on.
Planning
Weekends also provide an opportunity to research upcoming events that may affect the market. For example, the DailyFX economic calendar allows you to identify important economic dates such as policy reforms. You can then adjust your action plan in light of upcoming events that are set to affect market conditions.
final word
For switch-on day traders, the weekend is just another opportunity to make money. Some of the big traders are out of town, but volatility can be found in markets around the world. While many brokers and exchanges are shutting down, activity is always challenging, especially in the Middle East. If you want to trade, you need to adapt your strategy according to different market conditions. Or choose one of the weekend specific strategies above.
You can still arrange a week if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of real trading. You can utilize the training materials listed above or start backtesting and strategy on Monday.