ASX opening and closing times: when can you trade?

What are the opening and closing times of the ASX?

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) opens at 12am and closes at 6am (UK time), Monday to Friday. IG’s trading hours are much longer – with us, you can trade the Australia 200 between 11pm on Sunday and 10pm on Friday (UK time).

Remember, the market’s opening hours will change when the UK shifts to daylight savings time.

Above is a breakdown of the index’s trading hours. The Australia 200’s hours are based on the ASX opening times. The ASX is the stock exchange where the Australia 200 constituents are listed. These hours are most relevant to investors looking to buy Australia 200 ETFs or shares.

Australia 200 futures continue to trade outside of the ASX’s exchange’s hours and allow traders to get greater exposure to the index through derivatives. They are priced according to the spot value of the underlying market, plus any spread or commission payable for executing your trade.

IG’s Australia 200 hours and pricing are derived from corresponding futures elements, but the hours are longer. This gives traders even more opportunity to realise a profit. Note that the market is priced differently if you trade Australia 200 futures compared to trading the index out of hours.

You can’t trade the Australia on weekends, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Good Friday, or other holidays in the UK and Australia. And, if these holidays fall on a Monday, you can’t start trading again on the preceding Sunday night.

For trading hours specific to the shares of companies listed on the Australia 200, go to the IG trading platform and check the ‘market info’ tab on the deal ticket of the individual stock.

Want to trade the Australia 200? Get started by opening an IG account.

When is the best time to trade the Australia 200?

The best time to trade the Australia 200 depends on whether you prefer higher or lower volatility. Many traders prefer trading when the market is more active – when liquidity and volatility are high. This normally happens in one of the following scenarios:

• Just after the open of the ASX at 6am (UK time)
• Following an Australia 200 company’s earnings announcement
• When there is an overlap in trading hours of different geographic locations

IG’s economic calendar has all the details on the developments that may impact the index’s price.

Remember to plan ahead. You can’t trade the Australia 200 on weekends, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Good Friday, or other days which are holidays in the UK and Oceania.

How to get exposure to the ASX and Australia 200

With IG, you can get exposure to the ASX and Australia 200 via trading or investing. Trading involves speculating on price movements of index futures or cash indices via CFDs or spread bets. You can start trading with a small deposit (margin), and speculate on rising and falling prices.

If you choose investing, you can either buy shares in exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track the price of the Australia 200, or you can buy shares of the companies listed on the index. Investing is non-leveraged, which mean you need the full value of the position to get started. The only way to profit when investing is if you sell your holding at a higher price, at a later date.

Before you start trading or investing in the Australia 200, make sure you have a good plan and risk management strategy in place. This will help you make decisions about how and when to enter and exit the market.

Keen to trade the Australia 200? Try out the IG demo account for free, or take on the markets.