Forex market is a totally different beast as compared to the stock market. Stock market is open only for a fixed times usually from morning to the evening. After that it closes and trading stops. But forex markets never close. They are open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week except on weekends.

This continuous 24 hour trading at the forex markets is something quite novel for many new traders. Forex is traded Over the Counter (OTC) meaning there is no Central Exchange. Forex market is a global market. When one center is opening, another center is closing. This is very important for a new forex trader to understand.

As there is no open and close of the forex market, many new traders get confused and dont know when the best time when major price action takes place is? So they sit in front of the computer all the time and in the end simply exhaust themselves losing their stamina. A clever way is to divide the 24 hour day into three 8 hour sessions.

Again divide each 8 hour session in 4 hours by using 4 hour charts. As you will read this article, I will explain how this division is logical and can help you understand the forex markets. Forex markets are basically controlled by three money centers and these three sessions will help you identify the risk appetite and the price action for each.

The three major money centers that affect the forex markets everyday are namely: Asia, London and New York. We will call our three trading sessions, the Asian, the London and the New York Session.

Asian Market Session: Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore are the main cities that participate in this session. Major players are the export corporations and the central banks. Sydney opens and with that the forex markets become alive each day. Most of the price action that takes place in this session is unsustainable and jumpy.

London Market Session: London is the center of the global forex markets. The price action that takes place during this session forms the trend in the rest of the day trading. London forex markets are deep and highly developed. London market is also assisted by Paris, Geneva and Frankfurt. Since lot of money is needed to move this market, these moves give a lot of information for the traders.

New York Session: New York comes as the second forex center after London. Both these markets overlap in the morning when New York is opening and London is closing. This is the time when lot of action takes place.

The following table gives important times of the day that any forex trader needs to know: 00:00 GMT-Sydney Opens. 11:00 GMT-London opens. 15:00 GMT- London becomes very active. 17:00 GMT- London is active and New York opens. 18:00 GMT- London and Europe closes. 19:00 GMT- New York and Chicago getting ready for a close!

This overlapping between London and New York is when major price action takes place and new trends are formed or old trends are reversed. London is the market trend setter in fashion as well as forex.