Weekend Trading

Traditional stock exchanges used to function as the place where buyers and sellers meet and trade company shares. The exchanges had physical location, for instance, the New York Stock Exchange can be traced down to the lower Manhattan area of New York City. These operate on limited hours. In this case, the NYSE runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. the exchanges remain closed for business on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as during all federal holidays.

Scrabble letters spelling 'YAY WEEKEND'.

Many people all over the world have become accustomed to the concept of five-day working schedule. Foreign markets have also picked up on the trend and operate in hours approximately around the usual business hours. For instance, Australian market opens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., French market from 9 a.m. to 5.30. p.m., and Hong Kong stock market from 9.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

As a result of the time difference between different regions across the globe, it becomes possible to trade in foreign stock markets, even when it is a weekend in the local country. This is the only type of “weekend trading” that you can explore on physical stock exchanges.

What is weekend trading?

Just as the name suggests, weekend trading is all about trading on the weekend. It entails access to crypto and index markets on Saturday and Sunday. With this ability, if any market-shaking events take place over the weekend, you no longer have to wait until weekday for you to trade.

Most trading platforms normally quote the weekend prices differently from the weekday ones. That is largely determined by the market’s prospects and the news flow. Sometimes your weekend index position could roll over to the weekday if you keep it open after the Sunday close. The most important part of trading over the weekend is the ample time you get for market analysis. This is a trading approach that fits into most people’s busy lifestyles seamlessly.

MarketBidOfferChange
Weekend Germany 3015565.415577.416.1
Weekend Wall Street34795.134814.1-7.7
Examples of live prices on a weekend trading market

Can swing traders trade on the weekend?

The popular notion that you cannot trade over the weekend has been debunked. Swing traders can comfortably trade on the weekend. Thanks to the rise in technology, markets have attained globalization and acknowledge that different people worldwide operate on differing schedules. For example, the Middle East trading hours run from Sunday to Thursday. In other places, this normally runs from Saturday through Wednesday.

Thus, you should no longer doubt your possibility of trading on the weekend. In any case, many people across the world have appreciated the essence of weekend trading in stocks, currency, binary options, and CFDs.

What indices do you use in swing trading over the weekend?

As you get used to the idea of weekend trading, you may also wonder about the indices mostly available at this time.

The most popular stock indices that you can look into include:

  • Tel Aviv 35 Index – Also called TA-35 Index, this is an Israel-based stock market index that the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange computes and lists 35 of the leading companies in the TA-125 Index.
  • Tadawul Index – The sole authorized Saudi-based stock exchange. You can trade here by first opening an investment portfolio with a member of the exchange. Tadawul lists 203 publicly traded companies.
  • Kuwait Stock Exchange – Kuwait’s national stock exchange market lists some of the biggest insurance companies, real estate, and banks.
  • DFM Index – This Index was created based on the Dubai stock exchange and is one of the three exchanges in the UAE. The exchange lists 67 companies.

Should I swing trade over the weekend?

As the weekend approaches, swing traders often have to make two crucial decisions: continue trading or put their positions on hold. Most people, out of false notions shared out there, tend to hold. But that should not be the case. Swing trading during the weekend gives you great advantages. You have ample time to perform fundamental analysis as well as analyze patterns and trends.

Through swing trading, you can profit by making the most of an established risk. You could also take profit as per the price action movements.

Many swing traders evaluate trades on the basis of risk/reward. They look at charts which would help inform when to stop loss and anticipate the point of getting profit.

For instance, when you risk $1 per share it is reasonable to expect your setup to produce a $3 gain. On the other hand, it does not make sense to risk $1 in exchange for $0.75 potential profit.