The life of day traders, both beginners and pros, is centered around consistency. To create that consistency, you need to trade during the same period every day. Before you decide, you need to know the best time for day trading.
Some day traders usually trade for a whole regular session, while others trade for only a portion of the day – usually two to three hours per day.
If you want to do the same, here are the hours you’ll want to focus on.
For stocks trading
For stocks trading, the best time is the first one to two hours after the market opens and the last hour before it closes. The first two hours are the most volatile time of the day, offering the biggest price movements and highest profit potential.
The last hour of the day is also typically a good time for trading,as some sizable moves occur too. But if you only want to trade for an hour or two, trade the morning session.
For futures trading
For futures trading, it is around the opening session. Since active futures usually do a trading activity around that clock, so good day trading opportunities typically start a bit earlier than in the stock market.
The last hour of trading in a futures contract also typically offers sizable moves for day traders to capitalize on. Therefore, you can do futures day trading in either around the open or the last hour.
Also read: How Long Does it Take to be a Profitable Trader?
For Forex
While the forex market trades 24 hours a day, it typically sees the most volatility between 0600 and 1700 GMT.
Day traders should trade within these hours. 12.00 to 15.00 GMT typically sees the biggest price movements, so this is a very popular and active time for day traders.
During this time, both the London and the US markets are open, trading the euro and the US dollar.
As a day trader, you don’t need to trade all day. You will probably find more consistency by only trading two to three hours a day.
