Global Trading Sessions: A Guide to the Forex Market's 24-Hour Cycle

A day on the financial market is divided into global trading sessions: the opening hours of the largest stock exchanges in the world. They open during daytime hours in the respective time zone of each exchange.

A Trading day begins with the Pacific session, then the Asian one overlaps it; the London session takes over and finally the American one.

In the hours when sessions overlap, the quotes change particularly rapidly, due to increased volatility (i.e. more market participants).