A trading day is merely the time when a financial market is open for business. This does not include weekends or public holidays. In the forex market, trading days are special because the market is open 24 hours a day, five days per week. It is this continuous cycle of trading due to the fact that forex trading takes place among major financial centers such as London, New York, Tokyo, and Sydney, and whose trading sessions overlap. A standard trading day begins with the Sydney session and proceeds around the world. That’s to say that there’s always an open market somewhere, and you can trade at any time, day or night.

There are roughly 252 trading days in the US each year. Once more, why 252 and not 365. Well, it’s because of weekends and public holidays.

The stock exchanges operate Monday through Friday and not on weekends, i.e., Saturdays and Sundays. This reduces the number of potential trading days by about 104 days (52 weekends). It also varies with holidays occurring in the calendar. For instance, festivals like Christmas, New Year, and Independence Day can reduce the total number. Extended trading hours are the hours before and after the regular trading session when you can still buy and sell securities.

Pre-market trading is done prior to the market opening, usually from 4:00 AM and 9:30 AM Eastern Time, and after-hours trading is done after the market has closed, usually between 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

These sessions enable traders to react to news, earnings reports, and other events after hours. Although they offer more flexibility and more opportunities, extended trading hours are typically less liquid, more volatile, and have fewer available order types.

You need to be aware of the number of trading days in a year and familiar with trading sessions if you deal with the markets. We have 252 trading days in America per year because weekends and holidays take away some of the potential 365 days.

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