What does the spread actually do in the first minutes after the Sunday open?
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 11:09 am
Is the first five minutes after the weekend open even tradeable, or just a display of quotes that look real but are not? It depends on what is being asked.
Quotes come back in stages. Early on, only a few providers are streaming prices, so the spread on a major can be several times its normal size, and the book is thin enough that a single order can move price by more than the candle suggests. Then the spread compresses as more venues switch on, usually within the first quarter hour on majors, but later on crosses and exotics.
There is also the gap question. If a weekend headline shifted things, the open price may sit away from Friday's close, and the first quotes are the least reliable measurement of where the market really is.
So is waiting ten or fifteen minutes just caution, or a reasonable filter? Can the spread alone say when the market is ready, without relying on the clock? And do different brokers switch the feed on at different moments, which would change the answer from one platform to the next?
How long after the Sunday open does the spread on your main pair start to look normal?
Quotes come back in stages. Early on, only a few providers are streaming prices, so the spread on a major can be several times its normal size, and the book is thin enough that a single order can move price by more than the candle suggests. Then the spread compresses as more venues switch on, usually within the first quarter hour on majors, but later on crosses and exotics.
There is also the gap question. If a weekend headline shifted things, the open price may sit away from Friday's close, and the first quotes are the least reliable measurement of where the market really is.
So is waiting ten or fifteen minutes just caution, or a reasonable filter? Can the spread alone say when the market is ready, without relying on the clock? And do different brokers switch the feed on at different moments, which would change the answer from one platform to the next?
How long after the Sunday open does the spread on your main pair start to look normal?