Who hasn’t wondered how to be a pro in the investment game? After all, it is reputed for making tons of money over a short time with the right knowledge and the right amount of luck. A lot of traders prefer beating the market by regularly buying and selling stocks rather than spending in funds. However, as of 2019, only 29% of the US Stock traders were able to beat their goals.
So if you are new in the trade, there is one question you might be wondering about! What is the best time of the day to buy some stocks?
In this risky affair, there is but one thing certain and constant: that there are no specific guidelines. There are a few guidelines that might come in handy in this endeavour. Here is your comprehensive guide to the stock market hours, with a focus on the time of the day:
The best trading time of the day
This is the most common concern followed up by traders looking for ‘intraday’ opportunities. This means that they want to invest and reap the benefits on the same day. This makes the process short and constricted within the few trading hours of the day. They hardly ever retain any stock.
For this, they have to mostly keep an all-around eye on the rising and falling graphs of the accounts. Any wrong call can often cost them the day’s investments. But this is generally deemed by the traders as a myth. They do not have to stay glued to the accounts, as the volatile nature of the stocks reduces after the first hour and a half.
Considering various factors, the best investment time of the day is generally considered the early hours, 9.30 AM to 10.30 AM. The market opens its doors at sharp 9.15 AM every day, and the first 15 minutes are to be avoided. The market leverages this time to deal with and respond to the last day’s verdict.
The maximum stretched time as deemed by the experts is 11 AM. This is in case the trader wants to analyze the market further and make a well-informed decision. This early investment enables the most significant trading moves even under the constraints of a single day.
After 11-11.30 AM, both the market volatility and the market volume drops and thus tapers off. This disarms the means to make the larger moves, and the traders have to resort to the smaller ones.
Now the question might arise as to-
What happens during the last trading hours?
The general last hours are from 3 PM to 5 PM, which seems to be hours where a lot happens. It seems similar to the first hours, especially from the perspective of the intraday trade. The moves at the end get bigger again, and the reversals are sharper as well.
The initial hours differ from the last ones because the decisions are based on the trends that developed and followed during the day. The trading experts are well aware that the benefits may not be as leveraged as the initial hours bring, yet they are good enough. They thus employ various means to scoop the money up based on their years of knowledge and experience.
Additional Information:
Here is some additional information on the trading times that may come in handy-
The most happening days:
Despite the common belief that Mondays are the best day to invest in a stock, it is considered a myth with their week’s lowest prices. The idea is that Mondays have the stocks running at their lowest, while Fridays run the highest amounts. Now imagine if this was followed by all traders worldwide. No one would be selling stocks on a Monday, while no one would be buying any on a Friday! Thus there is no right or wrong day for stock investment.
The right conditions:
Traders often consider waiting for an already low stock price to go lower. Undeniably, there is a chance, but it is better to purchase the stocks at a standard low price than to risk the opportunity and buy it at a higher price. So focus on the bigger picture while assessing conditions to maximize benefit and garner the best insights.
Conclusion:
Like all other vocations, trading requires discipline and focus, and if you give it its due effort, you will emerge as a successful trader.