Stock markets are most active during their local morning hours, specifically in the first hour of trading (around 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM EST for the US) and the final hour (3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST), when volume is highest. The highest global volatility occurs during the London/New York overlap (8:00 AM – noon EST), where over 58% of forex trades often occur.
The NYSE is open from Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The NYSE may occasionally close early, either on a planned or unplanned basis.
The UK stock exchange opens Monday-Friday between 8am and 4:30pm (GMT) for retail investors. Pre trading and post trading sessions happen outside of the regular trading hours for institutional traders like pension funds. The New York Stock Exchange opens at 2:30pm and closes at 9pm (GMT).
3 = Do not risk more than 3% of your total capital on a single trade. 5 = Keep your total exposure to open trades less than 5%. 7 = Aim for at least a 7:1 profit-loss ratio on each trade. For example, if you risk $500, your potential profit should be around $3500.
The "90 Rule" in trading, often called the 90-90-90 Rule, is a harsh market observation stating that roughly 90% of new traders lose 90% of their money within their first 90 days, highlighting the high failure rate due to lack of strategy, poor risk management, and emotional trading rather than market complexity. It serves as a cautionary tale, emphasizing that success requires discipline, a solid trading plan, proper education, and managing psychological pitfalls like overconfidence or revenge trading, not just market knowledge.
Lower liquidity – Although extended-hours trading has increased, it's still small compared to the number of transactions that take place during prime trading hours. If you're trying to buy or sell during certain hours, you might find fewer counterparties, making it more difficult to execute a trade.
The best time of day to buy and sell shares is usually thought to be the first couple of hours of the market opening. The reason for this is that all significant market news for the day is factored into the stock price first thing in the morning.
The wealthiest 10% of U.S. households own approximately 93% of the stock market's value, a record concentration of wealth, with the top 1% holding over half of all stocks. This ownership is concentrated among the richest Americans, while the bottom half of households own a very small fraction, illustrating significant wealth inequality in stock market participation.
No, a 70-year-old shouldn't necessarily get out of the stock market entirely, as they still need growth to combat longevity risk (outliving savings), but they must rebalance to a more conservative allocation with bonds, cash, and safer assets to protect near-term income needs, often using strategies like the 120 minus age rule (80% stocks, 20% bonds/cash) or cash-flow wedges to fund living expenses, avoiding panic selling during downturns by having a diversified, long-term plan with a financial advisor.
The closest thing to a hard-and-fast rule is that the first hour and last hour of a trading day are the busiest, offering the most prospects, while the middle of the day tends to be the calmest and most stable period of most trading days.
If you don't have much capital, and don't have a lot of time to commit, the odds of making a living from day trading are remote. It is possible, but it is going to take a lot of time and discipline to build a small account into something that can produce a living.
The 2% rule in trading is a risk management strategy where you never risk more than 2% of your total trading capital on a single trade, protecting your account from significant drawdowns and ensuring longevity. To apply it, calculate 2% of your account balance as your maximum dollar loss per trade, then determine your position size and stop-loss to ensure you don't exceed that dollar amount if stopped out. This helps manage emotions and survive losing streaks, allowing consistent trading, unlike risking larger percentages that can quickly deplete capital, notes Phemex.
AI trading does not currently offer the average market participant any measurable, long-term return advantages either. However, artificial intelligence can support you at various points in your trading activities and thus optimize your approach and save a lot of time and energy.
How did one trader make $2.4 million in 28 minutes?
For one trader, the news event allowed for incredible profits in a very short amount of time. At 3:32:38 p.m. ET, a Dow Jones headline crossed the newswire reporting that Intel was in talks to buy Altera. Within the same second, a trader jumped into the options market and aggressively bought calls.
Using the 4% rule with $500,000 means you'd withdraw $20,000 the first year (4% of $500k) and adjust for inflation annually, a strategy designed to make the money last at least 30 years, often much longer (50+ years in favorable conditions), by maintaining a balance between spending and investment growth, though modern analysis suggests a slightly lower rate might be safer for very long retirements.
Let the index/stock trade for the first fifteen minutes and then use the high and low of this “fifteen minute range” as support and resistance levels. A buy signal is given when price exceeds the high of the 15 minute range after an up gap.
