What time does MetaTrader open and close?

One of the most important aspects of trading is understanding how your trading platform operates and the most optimal hours to use it. For traders across the globe, the MetaTrader 4 has become the go-to choice, largely due to its advanced features and the flexible trading experience it offers. However, to be able to properly leverage everything MT4 offers, one must know when the markets open, and when they close.

Forex Market Hours and MetaTrader

The valutamarkt offers one significant advantage to forex traders, it is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, closing only over weekends. Unlike the stock market for example that operates according to fixed opening and closing times, the forex market is decentralised which ultimately enables ongoing trading, Monday to Friday. The MetaTrader 4 platform thus follows this schedule, especially being the leading platform for forex trading.

Opening and closing sessions

The trading week begins when the first major market opens which is the Sydney session. At this point, traders can start executing trades or plan what positions to enter or exit in the upcoming week. The trading week ends when the New York session concludes.  This closing time is particularly vital to keep in mind as it marks the end of active trading until the market next reopens.

As a trader, you must ensure that any open positions are either exited before the trading day ends, or properly managed before the weekend to avoid potential market gaps when it reopens. A platform like MetaTrader 4 will help you also.

How important are trading hours?

The significance of trading hours extends beyond just the timing of opening or closing a position. It also involves understanding the strategy behind why certain hours are more optimal for trading than others. What does this mean though?

Liquidity of the market

Well, for one, market liquidity and volatility fluctuate throughout the day, with some periods offering more trading opportunities than others. For example, when the London and New York sessions overlap, liquidity and volatility are often at their peak. This time frame can be especially beneficial for traders using scalping or day trading strategies, as it provides the chance to maximise gains on rapid price movements.

Trading strategy and market sessions with MetaTrader

Further, as a trader, you may find that your strategy works best during a specific trading session. This is because each session, be it the European (London), Asian (Sydney and Toyko) or North American (New York), has its own attributes. A scalper for example may prefer the high volatility of the London-New York overlap.

A swing trader on the other hand may seek less active periods between sessions. Understanding the market hours allows traders to align their strategies with the most appropriate times.

Economic news and other key announcements

Handelen hours also become relevant in regards to the timing of significant economic news and releases like employment reports, GDP, inflation data, retail sales, consumer confidence reports, trade balance reports, and more. Also key are central bank announcements, and other market-moving events like geopolitical uncertainties and environmental disasters.

For instance, U.S. economic data is typically releasted during the New York session which can lead to dramatic price movements in USD-related pairs. Traders who stay mindful of these timing elements can positions themselves to either take advantage of potential opportunities or avoid unnecessary risk. One of the ways that traders do this is by using an Economische kalender.

The IronFX Economic Calendar for example covers financial events and economic indicators in real time to assist global traders remain updated to make informed financial decisions. This includes Gross Domestic Product (GDP), interest rates, unemployment rate, central bank minutes and Consumer Price Indices (PMIs) (measure for inflation), all of which are key drivers for currencies and important market-moving events.

Shift in market sentiment

The way in which trading sessions start and end may also reflect shifts in market sentiment and momentum. For example, strong movement in the New York session may continue in the Asian session.

This may impact how traders position themselves. Making a concerted effort into identifying these patterns could help traders better anticipate potential market behaviour.

Planning Your Trades with MetaTrader

Optimising your trades requires a trading plan and strategy that best aligns with the hours that the you intend on using the MetaTrader 4 platform.  Designing this plan is dependent on several key elements:

1. Identify your trading goals and the time you have that you can realistically dedicate to achieving those goals. Ask yourself what it is you want to achieve and whether those objectives can be met, taking into account the hours you can trade, your budget, and the level of risk you’re willing to take on. Remember, different sessions offer varying levels of volatility and liquidity. If high volatility or high liquidity is not a challenge your’re ready to take on, consider a session that is less active.
2. Pick a trading style that best aligns with your personality, skills, confidence, and risk aversion.
3. Establish a routine that integrates vital tasks like reviewing open positions, monitoring the news and economic releases, and undertaking a technical (or fundamental) analysis of the market you’re most keen on engaging with. At the point that you’ve executed trades, be sure to monitor them, consider journaling those trades for a historical reference and to identify why you took particular trading decisions.
4. Ensure the plan factors in some form of trading related education on an ongoing basis. Spend some time learning what you can about different trading strategies. Learm more about trading psychology – one of the key drivers of trading decisions. Trading psychology has everything to do with the way emotions impact financial decision making. Learning how to better handle these emotions, e.g. fear, anxiety, stress, arrogance, greed, etc, will likely improve your judgement and objective reasoning, increasing your potential for more successful outcomes.
5. Focusing on your trading psychology requires more than just educating yourself. It also means setting habits that become a routine and will help mitigate emotive trading. This could look like daily mindfulness practices or going to the gym to exercise or eating more healthily. It could also be something as simple as stepping away from your trading platform for a few minutes to a couple of hours, to help calm you down, particularly during periods of high stress.
6. Make trading practice a routine habit as well. This could include signing up for a demo trading account. A demo account offers one of the best ways to learn how to use the MetaTrader platform, and when. It provides the perfect opportunity to learn how to use technical analysis when it is most required during active trading sessions. Offering a simulated trading environment that mimics real life market conditions, you’ll get a good feel for what trading will look like. Using virtual funds, you’ll be able to open and close friends without putting your own money at risk.

Ultimately, the MetaTrader platform doesn’t open or close. Instead, you’ll likely be using it when the relevant session/s you wish to trade are operational. Work at becoming an expert on navigating the platform, whether you opt for the MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5, so that when you kick off with live trading, you’ll know how to use the platform in a way that will work for you.

Trading with IronFX

Becoming an IronFX trader means gaining access to a high-quality, flexible trading experience, multiple asset classes, an extensive range of account types, and fast trade execution. Through this international broker with clients across the globe, you’ll also be able to enjoy seamless withdrawals and deposits, and market access via the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform, arguably one of the world’s most popular trading systems amongst global traders. The IronFX Academy also offers an abundant source of educational resources to boost one’s skills and acquire fundamental trading insights.

Disclaimer:
This information is not considered investment advice or an investment recommendation, but instead a marketing communication. IronFX is not responsible for any data or information provided by third parties referenced or hyperlinked in this communication.