If you hold a position overnight, the opening price on the next trading day may experience a significant "gap." This is particularly common when holding over weekends or public holidays. In such cases, your order will be executed at the first available best price after the gap, which may result in your order being filled at an unexpected price.
Example with Gold (XAUUSD):
- Market quote time begins at 01:00, with official trading commencing at 01:01.
- On July 22, you opened a Sell position at 4130, with a Stop Loss set at 4125.
- After holding overnight, the opening price on the next trading day at 01:01 is 4117.36.
- Due to the price gap, your Stop Loss order is eventually executed at 4117.36.
Why does trading for Gold start at 01:01 after the market opens?
The 01:00 time slot is designated as the market quote time, while official trading begins at 01:01.
Trading is not available at 01:00 because this is the first minute after the market opens, when liquidity is typically low and abnormal or extremely volatile prices may occur. This could lead to unnecessary stop-outs caused by irregular quotes.
To protect the interests of the majority of clients, the platform only begins accepting orders for execution at 01:01, after prices have stabilized.
How can I check the specific trading hours for a product?
You can view the trading hours and contract specifications for any product by right-clicking on the product name in the MT4 Market Watch window, then selecting "Specification."
