Best Time to Trade Although everyone knows that the first hour or so is the best time to trade, many traders miss too many of the trades because they happen too fast and the change of directions occur abruptly. The market is going up very strongly and then on the next bar it falls with just as much momentum. By the time you accept the reversal, you have missed the trade. However, if you train youself to focus intensely during the first hour, you should be able to see about four strong setups. Even if you choose to scalp them, you can do well. Remember, either the high or low of the day usually occurs in the first hour or two, and this means that the market will eventually run away from that area very far by some point in the day. If you can learn to take those entries, you can do very well with swing trading. On most days, you will have to take 2 - 4 entries while attempting to catch a big swing but it is worth it. And it is hard to do. Some traders live for those first two hours and then don't trade for the rest of the day. One very successful trader told me that he analyzed his trading and discovered that he made 90% of his money in the first hour or two and decided to no longer trade the rest of the day.

The next best time to trade is in the final hour or two. The market often has nice trending swings going into the close.

The single worst time to trade is in the middle third of the day where the market usually is spending a lot of time in the middle third of the range, near the EMA, forming lots of Barb Wire and chopping swing traders to pieces. Yes, great price action traders can make money there, but until you are consistently profitable, you should avoid it.

Brooks article

Jeff Castille 

Day Trading Time Zones

The opening bell - 9:30am to 9:50am

The first 20 minutes of the day are the most volatile of the trading day. While this is the most dangerous day trading time zone

Portfolio Re-balancing - 3:30pm - 4:00pm

I tend to recommend traders not trade during the last half hour of the day


I couldn't agree more, exactly what I said.

Silvester17 

there's no best time to trade. chop time starts when market opens and ends when market closes. many are saying not to trade through lunch. look at today's ES high. made at 12:37. yes it went sideways from 11:43 to 12:06. but for me sideways is not chop. chop happend at 10:13 and 10:32. one more hint. it's the retail trader that takes lunch breaks. the pros are eating sandwiches at the desk. slower charts or faster charts don't matter. they're making new highs and lows exactly the same time. the only difference is your risk tolerance. too bad TRO ain't here no more. sometimes it's good to see a different view. I've a lot more. oh and I wonder why 95 % are losing money

Man I disagree with just about everything you said.

Each person has to find the best times to trade and not trade for their trading style and setups. There is no "one size fits all" solution here. I love to trade CL before the pit open. Someone else might want to trade it after the pit open. To each his own.

ES did make a high during what most consider lunch time. But what is your sample size? Try looking over a month or two and you'll find this is not the norm.

It doesn't matter if people are physically at a restaurant or eating a sandwhich at their desk, volume and trade frequency tell the story, and that story is there is much less activity between 12-14h. Some strategies may do better during this time, so may do worse. I personally do not trade this time because.. it is dinner time here.

Slower charts or faster.. if you trade breakouts, you'll get a lot more signals on the slower chart and the signal to noise ratio is lower so more false breakouts. Some strategies do better on higher, some on lower. Each person must find the right timeframe for their trading method.

What you said is probably true for your trading, but not true for all markets/traders/strategies.

Please post some trades showing us how you trade during lunch, I'm particularly interested in if you profited from the high you mentioned.

Silvester17 

Q: professionals are getting paid based on what? A: performance. do you really think they can "afford" to leave the market and have a nice lunch? I can assure you, that business is brutal. I'm not saying you should trade during lunch time, but I'm saying the opening and closing is more difficult. and the other thing those so called gurus are telling you is, do not trade the reports. I admit the order book is empty, but if you know what to look for and are fast enough, easiest way to make money. anyway, I'll continue to knock myself out. have a good weekend

Professionals trade size and they cannot do this during periods of low volume and low activity, that's why they sit out.

I think you're confusing the different types of professionals.

"locals" will stick around because they are scalping for ticks and they have all the odds in their favor (they can see the order book). They can also push the market around as they want, running stops and the like.

Show us what you look for during lunch and how you profit from it. I'm curious.

cunparis 

Man I disagree with just about everything you said. Each person has to find the best times to trade and not trade for their trading style and setups. There is no "one size fits all" solution here. I love to trade CL before the pit open. Someone else might want to trade it after the pit open. To each his own. ES did make a high during what most consider lunch time. But what is your sample size? Try looking over a month or two and you'll find this is not the norm. It doesn't matter if people are physically at a restaurant or eating a sandwhich at their desk, volume and trade frequency tell the story, and that story is there is much less activity between 12-14h. Some strategies may do better during this time, so may do worse. I personally do not trade this time because.. it is dinner time here. Slower charts or faster.. if you trade breakouts, you'll get a lot more signals on the slower chart and the signal to noise ratio is lower so more false breakouts. Some strategies do better on higher, some on lower. Each person must find the right timeframe for their trading method. What you said is probably true for your trading, but not true for all markets/traders/strategies. Please post some trades showing us how you trade during lunch, I'm particularly interested in if you profited from the high you mentioned.

man you didn't understand what I was trying to say. I was trying to say each one must find their own best time to trade. there's no need to listen to those so called gurus. especially those great traders who are "selling books and asking for donations". and I don't need to look back for a month or two. I'm doing this a little longer. as I said earlier there's a chop risk as soon as the market opens.

I believe the market respects certain levels, and for that reason it doesn't matter if it's 10:00, 12:00 or 15:00.

cunparis 

Professionals trade size and they cannot do this during periods of low volume and low activity, that's why they sit out. I think you're confusing the different types of professionals. "locals" will stick around because they are scalping for ticks and they have all the odds in their favor (they can see the order book). They can also push the market around as they want, running stops and the like. Show us what you look for during lunch and how you profit from it. I'm curious.

yes I'm confused you're right.

the professionals I'm talking about are more worried about price than volume. that's why they don't sit out.

Silvester17 

The opening bell - 9:30am to 9:50am The first 20 minutes of the day are the most volatile of the trading day. While this is the most dangerous day trading time zone Portfolio Re-balancing - 3:30pm - 4:00pm I tend to recommend traders not trade during the last half hour of the day I couldn't agree more, exactly what I said.

dude , you're giving away our trade secrets

its a good thing these guys dont have a clue what you're talking about when you say 9:30-9:50 (world-wide institutional orders hit the floor) and re-balancing

and why to monitor the so called doldrums to see who is accumulating or distributing and wait for the programs to hit

have a good weekend and c ya at the bell

Silvester17 

this is just imho there's no best time to trade. chop time starts when market opens and ends when market closes. many are saying not to trade through lunch. look at today's ES high. made at 12:37. yes it went sideways from 11:43 to 12:06. but for me sideways is not chop. chop happend at 10:13 and 10:32. one more hint. it's the retail trader that takes lunch breaks. the pros are eating sandwiches at the desk. slower charts or faster charts don't matter. they're making new highs and lows exactly the same time. the only difference is your risk tolerance. too bad TRO ain't here no more. sometimes it's good to see a different view. I've a lot more. oh and I wonder why 95 % are losing money

Couldn't agree more!! I shorted 9425 at 12:55 and held that sucker through that ENTIRE move down into, what, 108750-ish -- can't remember the exact exit, but it's written down in my book. I was at my desk eating leftover salad from night before last. Does that count LOL?

Hapster 

Couldn't agree more!! I shorted 9425 at 12:55 and held that sucker through that ENTIRE move down into, what, 108750-ish -- can't remember the exact exit, but it's written down in my book. I was at my desk eating leftover salad from night before last. Does that count LOL?

eating leftover salad at your desk??? you must be a professional!!!

silvester17 knows exactly what he is talking about

for you other guys that are mis-informed, under-informed, not-informed, wishyouwere-informed go to thetradingphysics.com and poke around in there and education yourself on the market - they provide good free reading material on how the market works

thers a quiz on monday so be prepared

good luck

and hits thanks for this great post lol