I have been trading ES futures and futures options for many years, and I am curious. Who trades when? Folklore suggests that "dumb money" trades at the open (9:30AM) and most of the morning. The "smart money" starts to come in around 2:00PM EST and trades heavily at 4:00 PM EST. Who is trading from 4-4:15 PM? By looking at the volume, it appears that smart money continues to trade during this period. Now, who trades from 4:30PM to 5:30 PM? Institutions, individuals, foreign investors? When the market reopens at 6:00 PM, who trades? I know that New Zealand/Australia markets open--so do those investors trade at 6:00PM? Do any Americans (institutions, individuals) trade overnight? When do American traders begin trading in the morning? Just been curious. Appreciate comments.
Not an expert, but the smart money should be trading whenever the market moves, which is usually not 2 ET, but more like the first 90 minutes and the last 90.... Also, the smart money should be position trading, so the time is really irrelevant, but the price isn't...