Day-of-week effects: do you trade Mondays and Fridays differently?

Monday gaps and thin liquidity, Friday position-squaring and the weekend risk premium — the days aren't interchangeable, and strategies that ignore the calendar of the week pay for it.

Day-of-week effects: do you trade Mondays and Fridays differently? — bid-ask spread diagram
The bid-ask spread on a currency pair

What's your day-based plan?

  • which days you trade and which you skip
  • how Friday's weekend risk changes your stops and holding
  • a day-of-week stat from your own journal
Day-of-week effects: do you trade Mondays and Fridays differently? — drawdown and recovery diagram
An equity curve during a drawdown and its recovery

The weekend gaps guide covers the Friday-to-Sunday risk in detail.

Background: Weekend gaps: why prices jump when the forex market reopens

Currencies stop trading on Friday evening, but the news doesn't. What happens to your positions and stops when the market reopens at a different price.

What is a weekend gap in forex?

A difference between Friday's closing price and the first price when the market reopens on Sunday, caused by news or events over the weekend.

Will my stop-loss protect me from a gap?

Not fully. A standard stop is triggered when the market reopens and fills at the first available price, which can be beyond the stop. Guaranteed stops, where offered, avoid this for a fee.

Read the full guide

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