Best times of day to trade shares?

Pssst

As a general rule,,can anyone say what is the best time of day to buy shares and then to sell?? Come to think of it,are there better and worse days of the week to trade?

the_annoyed_customer

probably stear clear of trading for the 1st couple of hours after the market opens as it expereinces quiet a few swings very quickly untill it settles down for the day

sabretoothtigger

There is no answer to this as it obviously varies

Prices are often influenced by american markets opening from midday onwards but also from the night before.
Anticipation can be incorrect so you can have every flavour from highest price at open, approaching midday (&upto 2:30pm) and also at close there can be a peak



So right now the sp500 closed 9pm roughly at the same level it held at 4.30pm You could from this presume that market open at 8am will be fairly level, no big drop or price pressure either way.

benood

I looked at this a few years ago and it seemed to me that it was better on average to buy shares towards the end of the month rather than at the beginning.

sabretoothtigger

That really is random, there is no specific timings on any time frame afaik. I always think shares rise a bit in the approach to xmas and then fall back after.

You can predict volume and volatility though. Volume often falls over the summer apparently due to holidays taken. Markets are most volatile at open and close.

Many people predict prices from those two more reliable factors, such as in my sig

purch

can anyone say what is the best time of day to buy shares and then to sell??

The best time to buy is when the market is going up....the best time to sell is when it's going down.

Hatone

I tend to avoid the first half hour of trading because you are exposed to wide spreads, especially if you buy in the first 1 - 5 minutes of trading because lack of orders on the book. But ultimately, if you know good news is coming, the sooner you buy the better.

However, sometimes the open price is less than the price it ended the day before - therefore giving investors the chance to buy more shares than when the market ended, in the hope that it gradually rises throughout the day.

Baz_2

purch wrote: »

The best time to buy is when the market is going up....the best time to sell is when it's going down.

Buy low, sell high. :rotfl:

You're quite the sage.

Is the market going up at the moment, is it safe to buy yet? How long does it need to go up before we should buy?

tonygee_3

Best to avoid 'daytrades' until u become experienced
Instead buy low(in a panic) and wait a while for profits
Generally there is a lull between 11ish and 1ish,most activity 8-10 and 1:30-3,this would be the time to daytrade if u plan to

Jake'sGran

Baz wrote: »

Buy low, sell high. :rotfl:

You're quite the sage.

Is the market going up at the moment, is it safe to buy yet? How long does it need to go up before we should buy?

I thought it was an unhelpful post too. I am just dipping my toe in again but was annoyed today that my bank refused WorldPay for some reason (via Hoodless Brennan). I have been watching certain shares for a while and have decided on a couple that are looking good and have a decent dividend. I feel there are too many other considerations for me to start dithering about the best time of day.

purch

Buy low, sell high. :rotfl:

You're quite the sage.

Is the market going up at the moment, is it safe to buy yet? How long does it need to go up before we should buy?

In your case, it would be better to steer clear of anything that requires the use of your brain until you can read and understand things better.

I doubt whether it will ever be safe for you to go anywhere near the market..................fools who think they can time the market, and know better than the professionals get "eaten alive"