When Does the Asian Trading Session Start?
Learn how the Asian trading session shapes the global financial day, offering key insights for market participants.
Understanding global financial market sessions is important for currency trading. These distinct trading periods across different parts of the world influence market behavior and liquidity. Knowing when these sessions begin and end, especially the Asian trading session, offers insight into potential market movements.
Understanding the Asian Trading Session
The Asian trading session is the first major segment to open in the global foreign exchange (forex) market each week. This session primarily encompasses financial centers such as Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, and Hong Kong. This activity sets the initial tone for the trading week.
This session often has lower volatility and more subdued price movements compared to other major sessions. Trading during this period tends to be more range-bound. Currency pairs involving the Japanese Yen (JPY), Australian Dollar (AUD), and New Zealand Dollar (NZD) are typically the most active during these hours.
Determining Start and End Times
The Asian trading session, often called the Tokyo session, typically runs from 12:00 AM to 9:00 AM Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). UTC is used as it remains consistent, unlike local time zones which shift with Daylight Saving Time (DST).
For those in the United States, this translates to specific evening and early morning hours. During Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), the Asian session begins at 7:00 PM the previous day and ends at 4:00 AM the current day. For Central Daylight Time (CDT), the session runs from 6:00 PM the previous day to 3:00 AM the current day. On Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), the session starts at 4:00 PM the previous day and concludes at 1:00 AM the current day.
The 24-Hour Global Market Cycle
The foreign exchange market operates continuously five days a week, creating a 24-hour trading environment. The Asian session is the initial segment in this cycle, passing activity to other major financial centers. The European (London) session follows, then the North American (New York) session begins.
Significant overlaps occur between these major trading sessions. The overlap between the Asian and European sessions, generally from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM UTC, can be a period of increased liquidity and trading activity. During these overlapping hours, more market participants are active simultaneously, which may lead to more pronounced currency movements.
Key Market Dynamics
Market activity during the Asian trading session often reflects initial reactions to weekend news or the previous New York session’s close. While overall volatility is typically lower in this session, there is increased activity and potential for larger price swings in currencies from the Asia-Pacific region. This includes pairs such as USD/JPY, AUD/USD, and NZD/USD.
Economic data releases from key Asian economies can impact currency movements. Announcements such as Japan’s GDP figures or Bank of Japan policy statements, Australia’s employment data, and China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) are closely watched. These reports can generate temporary volatility spikes within the calmer trading environment.