Since technology has advanced, foreign trading in India operates 24 hours, which means that the forex market is open 24 hours a day for 5 days as per IST (Indian Standard Time); as the market is highly volatile, you will never be able to predict when it will be profitable.
In a highly volatile market where prices fluctuate, you must choose a specific time to make quick gains.
This article will go through the following things:
- What is Forex Trading?
- Why is the Forex Market open 24 hours?
- How To Make Money In Forex Trading?
- Forex Trading Time in India For Popular Markets
Let’s begin.
What Is Forex Trading?
To do business at the international level, the transactions happen with the help of international currencies.
Forex, also known as foreign exchange, is a process of exchanging one currency for another. Foreign exchange can be done through banks, retail traders or even from local people.
The exchange rate is the price you buy or sell the currency. The exchange rate depends on various factors such as world news and events, though the effect of such factors is minor daily As per Statista, the forex exchange rate was around 6 billion dollars, of which the USD currency outweighed other currencies all over the world in 2019!
Best Forex Market Timings In India: Learn How To Gain Most Profit In Forex Trading?
One of the best times to trade in the forex market in India is between 17:30 IST to 20:30 IST, as the EU and US Market overlap during this time. And the USD and Euro are the most profitable currencies to trade.
Here’s a quick example of how forex trade happens.
Imagine if USD is worth 81 Indian Rupees, which means you have to pay Rs 81 to get $1. You make the transaction, and now you hold on to $1. After a few hours, the exchange rate goes to $1.15.
- You pay $1 and get $1.15
- Dollar prices depreciated against the Indian Rupee, so the exchange prices went up.
- You sell $1.15 and get $0.15 as a profit.
So, in the end, you made a profit of $0.15
Let’s take another scenario in which you exchange $10000 instead of $1.
- You pay $10000 and get $10500 in return
- The dollar depreciates against the rupee, so the exchange rate goes up.
- You give $10000 and get back $10500 in return; you make a profit of $500.
So if you are good at identifying which currency will appreciate and which will depreciate at what time, you can make money simply by “betting” on it.
Forex Market Open Time: Why Are Forex Markets Open 24 Hours In India?
As the Forex market is an exchange of international currency, it opens worldwide anytime.
For example, the London Stock Exchange opens at 1:30 am IST, while New Zealand starts its day at 2:30 am IST.
In addition, as every forex dealer, broker, etc., deals in forex are a part of the market regardless of where he/she is located.
It starts in Australia and goes around the world, and by the time California is ready to close in the evening, Australia starts its day.
Even on weekends, the market is open to some extent because many Islamic countries have their weekend on Fridays.
So in the case of gulf currencies, one leg of currencies can get settled on Saturday or Sunday, while the dollar leg of the same transaction gets settled on Monday.
Furthermore, there is high volatility when the market hours overlap between trading sessions of two regions or countries. Now let us look at the Forex Trading Time In India for different countries as per IST.
Forex Trading Time In India (Exchange Wise)
#1. New York Stock Exchange
Forex Market Open Time: 8:00 PM to 1:30 AM IST
As of August 2022, the New York Stock Exchange is the world’s largest stock market, with an equity market capitalization of over 24.1 trillion US dollars.
As most transactions take place in USD, it is a highly volatile market if you want to trade in a pair of USD/EUR and USD/GBP.
#2. London Stock Exchange
Forex Market Open Time: 1:30 PM to 10 PM IST
The London Stock Exchange market is the largest forex market in the world, whereas per Statista, daily forex transactions amounted to 3.65 trillion dollars in 2019. The UK market is 2.5 times larger than the United States Forex Market.
It becomes easy for you to trade in the London stock exchange as you not only get high volatility as it is linked with UK and Europe countries, but you also get suitable Indian standard time which makes it easy to make forex transactions.
You can pair with EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/GBP to make the most out of the volatile session.
#3 Sydney Stock Exchange
Forex Market Open Time: 5:30 AM to 12:30 PM IST
Forex trade in Australian dollars has grown over 100 percent from 2001 to 2019. As per Statista, the average daily forex transaction as of April 2019 was 119 billion US dollars.
As the Sydney session is linked to the Australian and New Zealand countries, there is a highly volatile market due to market overlap sessions.
You can pair AUD/USD, NZD/USD, and AUD/NZD to gain more profit.
#4. Tokyo Stock Exchange
Forex Market Open Time: 5:30 AM to 11:30 AM IST.
The Tokyo stock exchange is also referred to as Asian sessions as it is the financial capital of Asia.
It is the third-largest forex trading session in the world, as the Yen participates in 16.5% of all forex transactions. Overall, 21% of all forex transactions take place during the session.
You will see a strong move between AUD/USD, JPY/USD, and NZD/JPY.
It is advisable to do transactions in these pairs at the start of the session as there is high volatility during that time, which provides an opportunity for short-day trades or potential breakout trades to make more profits.
Timing For Forex Trading In India (IST)
| Region | Opening Hours (IST) | Closing Hours (IST) |
| New York | 8:00 PM | 1:30 AM |
| London | 1:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
| Sydney | 5:30 AM | 12:30 PM |
| Tokyo | 5:30 AM | 11:30 AM |
To trade forex, you must first understand forex trading time in India of various countries so that you can know when the local exchange session overlaps, resulting in high volatility, and then pair different currencies to make more profit.
For instance, if you want to trade GBP/USD, you need to know both sessions’ forex market open time as the market is more volatile during that time, providing more profit opportunities.
Conclusion
The best time to trade in India through legally authorized, SEBI & RBI-approved brokers is between 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM. We hope you know the best time for forex trading in India, and you are all set to trade profitability. By opening a Free Demat Account now, you can get started with your investment journey.
