The Sunday open gap and thin liquidity in the first minutes

[Amanhasnoname]

When the market reopens on Sunday evening, price often starts somewhere different from Friday's close. That's a gap, and for a scalper it matters less than what follows it.

The first few minutes have wide spreads, sparse ticks, and thin books. Prices can jump several pips between consecutive quotes with nothing in between. Any stop sitting from an order left open over the weekend can fill at the first quote available.

For anyone who trades pending orders, check them before the open. Orders left over from Friday can trigger on the gap itself at prices far from where they were meant to execute.

Even for traders who are flat, the first 30 to 60 minutes is a poor environment for tight scalping. Spreads normalise only gradually as banks in Wellington, Sydney and Tokyo join in.

A reasonable rule is to wait until spread on the main pair has fallen to its usual range and tick flow looks steady.

How long after the Sunday open do you wait before trading, if at all?