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Binary Options Weekend Trading

Written By

William Berg

Written By

William Berg

William contributes to several investment websites, leveraging his experience as a consultant for IPOs in the Nordic market and background providing localization for forex trading software. William has worked as a writer and fact-checker for a long row of financial publications.

» William Berg Profile Page

Edited By

Tobias Robinson

Edited By

Tobias Robinson

Tobias is a partner at DayTrading.com, director of a UK limited company and active trader. He has over 25 years of experience in the financial industry and contributed via CySec to the regulatory response to digital options and CFD trading in Europe. Toby’s expertise and dedication to financial education make him a trusted voice in the industry, including a BBC investigation into digital options.

» Tobias Robinson Profile Page

Updated

Oct 2, 2024

Weekend binary options trading provides opportunities for investors that may be busy Monday to Friday. Markets that are open on the weekend also offer unique characteristics. In this guide, we explain how you can trade binary options on the weekend, from market access to the pros and cons, strategies to use, and more.

Can You Trade Binary Options At The Weekend?

Many markets close on the weekend, which does limit opportunities for traders. However, some binary options brokers offer products and assets that are available to trade 24/7. These include:

• Cryptocurrencies
• Over-the-counter (OTC) stocks, forex and indices

Traders should remember that while most of the world is used to a Monday-to-Friday trading week, some cultures follow a different trading schedule. The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange, for example, is open Monday through Thursday, and Sunday. Schedules for other exchanges include Saturday through Wednesday and Sunday through Thursday.

This means that both days of the weekend can be traded on, albeit at trading hours that may be awkward to work around depending on your time zone. Alternatively, cryptocurrencies are available 24/7 without interruption.

Some of the most popular exchanges open on the weekend are:

• Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange – Israel’s only public stock exchange, open from 9:59 am to 3:39 pm Israel Standard Time (GMT +02:00) on Sundays
• Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) – Based in Riyadh, this exchange is open from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Arabian Standard Time (GMT +03:00) on Sundays
• Kuwait Stock Exchange (Boursa Kuwait) – The national stock market of Kuwait, this exchange is open from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Arabian Standard Time (GMT +03:00) on Sundays

Exchanges open on Saturdays are less common but include the Tehran Stock Exchange and Iran Fara Bourse, both open Saturday through Wednesday from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Iran Standard Time (GMT +03:30). Check your binary options broker offers trading opportunities on these exchanges.

Weekend Trading Alternatives

Trading on open exchanges isn’t the only way to trade on the weekend. Binary brokers, including Pocket Option, offer 24/7 opportunities on certain stocks and forex pairs with OTC trading. Rather than using real-time market data from an exchange, the prices for the OTC market are ‘provided directly by banks, liquidity providers and market makers’.

Other products available for 24/7 binary options trading include Deriv’s synthetic indices, which simulate real-world price movements in an entirely virtual, proprietary system. Traders can choose the level of volatility they prefer on these synthetic indices, which are available 365 days per year.

As outlined above, traders can also sign up with a broker to trade digital options on cryptocurrency markets at the time of their choosing, any time of day or night and all year round.

Pros & Cons Of Weekend Binary Options Trading

Pros

• More Trading Time – If you’ve got a reliable weekend binary options trading strategy, then having more time to implement it can lead to more profits. Being able to increase the number of days you trade leads to greater profit potential.
• Flexibility – Trading binary options mid-week isn’t viable for everyone. Many people hold full-time jobs or have other commitments, leaving little time for trading from Monday to Friday. Weekend binary options trading opens up the opportunity to trade in your free time.
• Different Strategies – Markets open on weekends behave differently than the western markets most are familiar with. This can lead to some strategies performing better in these conditions.

Cons

• Limited Underlying Assets – There are fewer markets open on the weekends as opposed to the weekdays. This means the pool of assets you can open binary options contracts on is limited.
• Limited Brokers – Fewer available exchanges mean that there will be fewer binary options brokers that have access to them. Some of the more popular markets may have greater accessibility, like the Tadawul, but others may be limited.
• Trading Hours – Depending on where you live, the trading hours on weekend binary options markets may not be enticing. It is possible that you will have to be prepared to trade at anti-social hours to capitalize on weekend binary options markets.

How To Trade Binary Options On The Weekend

The most popular traditional markets that are open during the weekend are the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange, the Saudi Stock Exchange, and the Kuwait Stock Exchange. These are not the only markets open, however.

Alternatively, sign up for a broker such as Pocket Option, Deriv, and IQ Option which offer binary options trading on OTC stocks and forex, synthetic indices and cryptocurrencies 24/7.

Every market has its own characteristics. Some will only hold assets from certain industries, while others may trade the highest-value assets in their country. You will need to decide the type of underlying asset you would like for your binary options contracts. Being consistently successful in trading binary options requires knowledge of the underlying asset.

Once you’ve chosen your market, it will be time to find a binary options broker that trades on that market. Brokers will usually show the markets they offer on their websites.

Be sure to try out the binary options broker’s platform by creating a free demo account. This will help you gauge whether the brokerage provides you with all the features you want and need when trading binary options on the weekend.

Once you’ve chosen a binary options broker for weekend trading, it is time to create an account and begin trading.

Binary Options Weekend Trading Strategy

Because of the different conditions when trading binary options at the weekend, the effectiveness of your strategy may be different versus when you trade during the week. Since there are fewer traders and major market players, you can expect lower volumes.

We can use these factors to develop binary options strategies designed to deal with weekend conditions:

Trading The Weekend Gap

Gaps are simply big price jumps, either shifting up or down while skipping the prices in between. If you see the price of an asset move from $10.000 to $10.010 without moving through $10.001–$10.009, this is a gap. These can occur for several reasons, such as the result of accelerating price movements.

During weekday trading, when there is a large number of people trading, they usually require a high volume of the underlying asset to be traded in a short space of time. For example, a piece of significant news could lead to frenzied market activity and cause a gap as a large volume of trades pushes the price higher or lower.

However, the dynamic is different in binary options weekend markets. With fewer traders active on the market, each individual trader has more influence on price movements, and a gap can be created by chance if a few traders place trades in the same direction at once, or even by a single large trade.

In this case, the market would tend to view the gap as unjustified, and traders will expect another significant price movement on the rebound. As such, they would trade the asset in the opposite direction, closing the gap.

• For upwards gaps, traders will take a short/down position, causing the price to fall and closing the gap.
• For downward gaps, traders will take a long/high position, causing the price to rise, closing the gap.

Seeing a gap should indicate that the price will reverse in the next period, signalling the direction of price movement, and telling you the type of binary options contract you should open.

Usually, when the gap closes, it returns to the price from before the gap (the close of the initial candlestick). Using this information, you can set a price level for a one-touch option to increase profits over a simple high/low binary option.

The gap usually closes in the following period. You can use this information to set your expiry time to within a period.

Trading Bollinger Bands

Bollinger bands are a set of three lines that define a price channel that the underlying asset price is unlikely to leave. Because of the conditions on the weekend, Bollinger bands arguably create more accurate predictions.

Bollinger Bands consist of:

• An upper line – The moving average plus two times the standard deviation
• A middle line – Usually a 20-period moving average
• A lower line – The moving average minus two times the standard deviation

This creates a price channel where the upper line acts as a resistance while the lower line acts as a support. The middle line can act as either depending on where the current price is in relation to the line.

The lower volatility of weekend binary options trading makes the markets more predictable and uniform, allowing Bollinger Bands to be more accurate and easier to use.

When the price approaches the upper or lower line, you can expect a reversal within the next period or so. It is unlikely the price will break through the upper or lower line and continue in that direction, especially with the lower volatility of weekend trading. Knowing that a reversal is coming, you can set up a binary options contract predicting the price to reverse.

Setting up Bollinger Bands is simple, as these indicators are widely available on most trading platforms. On your binary options broker’s platform, simply go to the technical analysis tools menu and choose the Bollinger Bands option.

Also Consider

The weekend binary options trading strategies described above are valid for weekend trading on traditional markets, and may also be useful for markets such as cryptocurrencies, where the trading volume is likely to be lower during weekends.

However, bear in mind that products such as synthetic indices will not necessarily behave any differently during weekends, since these are simulated price movements and the trader chooses the volatility.

Final Word On Weekend Binary Options

Weekend binary options trading offers investors the opportunity to try different strategies in unusual market conditions and potentially increase their weekly profits. While most brokers and markets are closed, there are some, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, with their doors open, ripe with volatility. Additionally, traders can seek out binary options brokers such as Pocket Option and IQ Option that have products available to trade 24.7.

FAQs

Can I Trade Binary Options On The Weekend?

While most markets are closed at the weekend, there are some that are still open. These are mostly markets in the Middle East and Asia, such as the Saudi Stock Exchange and Tell-Aviv Stock Exchange. Because these exchanges are open at the weekend, you will be able to trade binary options contracts on their underlying assets. Additionally, you can sign up with a broker such as IQ Option, Deriv, or Pocket Option and access their products 24/7.

How Do I Trade Binary Options On The Weekend?

You will need to choose a market that has assets you’d like to trade binary options on. Once you’ve chosen, you’ll need to find a binary options broker that trades on that exchange. Some brokers such as Pocket Option offer special products that are available 24/7, while others such as Quotex may also support weekend trading on certain assets.

Can I Use The Same Binary Options Trading Strategy On The Weekend As The Weekdays?

Weekend markets usually run with different conditions than when they are open on weekdays. This is because there are fewer traders trading on the weekend compared to the weekday. As such, there are likely to be lower volumes traded and occasional spikes in volatility.
Thus, strategies that you implement during high-volatility, high-volume weekday trading are likely to be less effective. You’ll need to develop a new weekend binary options trading strategy that fits the conditions better. Check the guide above for example strategies that you could implement.

What Are The Benefits Of Trading Binary Options On The Weekend?

Some people may have busy weeks filled with commitments, giving them little time to delve into trading. Others may think five days a week of binary options trading is not enough and need more. Weekend markets offer solutions to both of those types of trader, giving both the ability to increase their potential weekly profits without eating into their busy weekly schedules. They also give binary options traders the opportunity to experience trading under different market environments, encouraging the use of different strategies.

What Are The Limitations Of Trading Binary Options On The Weekend?

Not everything will be positive when it comes to binary options trading on the weekend. Firstly, the underlying asset pool you will have access to is limited. There are only a handful of markets open during the weekend compared to the weekdays. Along the same lines, there will also be fewer brokers available, possibly making finding a suitable platform more difficult. Trading hours can also be difficult depending on where in the world you live. This can be especially difficult for those living in the west as most open markets are in the Middle East and Asia.