Fittingly for a global market, Forex trades are possible twenty-four hours a day. After all, there are twenty-four hourly time zones in the world, so wherever you are and whatever time of day it is, it is possible to make a trade on the Forex market if you have become party to any information which may benefit a trade. For example, if you are working late for any given reason and cannot trade on the London stock exchange, there is always an opportunity to trade via New York or Tokyo. It is true that there are peaks and troughs of activity on the market, and that the peaks will come when most exchanges are open. Nonetheless, there will always be a chance to trade if you are sure your strategy is likely to bear fruit.

There are a number of factors which govern the importance of a trading center for the stock market. Not least of these is the amount of time that the exchange has been in operation. Unofficially, the major center of Forex trading worldwide is the London Stock Exchange, and the next two (both of which are considered part of a top three) are Tokyo and New York – although not necessarily in that order.

Further to that, there are prominent, if not major, centers in Frankfurt, Singapore and Hong Kong. The effect of having many such prominent centers is that there is generally a consistent reasonable level of trading going on. When the Asian trading sessions end, the European session begins and halfway through the European session the American one opens. It is generally accepted that the best trading is done while one major center is open, and that trades that take place during the overlap between New York opening and London closing is the spell with the most urgent – and occasionally volatile – market behavior. If your trade depends on a quick hit, then the volatility can work in your favor, but you still need to be pretty sure before you place it. Most big news stories – of a kind that can affect markets – tend to happen during the working day, too, so it is certainly worth keeping an eye on the news wires during these times.