Key Takeaways
- Twice a year, the US and Europe shift their clocks for daylight saving time.
- Because the underlying exchanges shift with them, every chart, every session open, and every economic data release moves by one hour for several weeks.
- Here is what to expect and how to adjust.
Twice a year, the US and Europe shift their clocks for daylight saving time. Because every major exchange and central bank in those regions follows the local clock, the schedule of every market they host shifts with them. For traders who navigate by GMT or by their own local time, the effect is several weeks of "what time does the New York session actually open now?"
The 2026 DST transition dates
- United States: DST begins Sunday 8 March 2026 (clocks forward), DST ends Sunday 1 November 2026 (clocks back).
- Europe and UK: DST begins Sunday 29 March 2026 (clocks forward), DST ends Sunday 25 October 2026 (clocks back).
- Australia (NSW, VIC, etc.): DST ends Sunday 5 April 2026 (clocks back), DST begins Sunday 4 October 2026 (clocks forward) — note that Australia operates in the opposite hemisphere so the seasons are reversed.
- Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China): No DST observed.
The "DST gap" windows — read carefully
Because the US and Europe do not switch on the same date, there are two 3-week windows each year when the usual time offset between London and New York is one hour off the normal value:
- 8–28 March: US is on DST; Europe is not yet. Normal London/New York offset (London ahead by 5 hours) becomes London ahead by 4 hours.
- 25 October – 1 November: Europe has ended DST; US has not yet. London ahead by 6 hours instead of the usual 5.
During these windows, the London/New York session overlap shifts by an hour. Economic data releases that you are used to seeing at 13:30 GMT during normal time appear at 12:30 GMT during the spring window. Charts that you read at fixed GMT times will show the data hour earlier or later than expected.
What changes on the platform
The MT4 server operates on a fixed time zone (typically GMT+2 or GMT+3, depending on the broker — at TopWealth, we operate on a stable server time that does not shift). This means:
- Chart timestamps remain on server time year-round. They do not shift with DST.
- Daily candle close on FX charts may appear to shift by an hour relative to the New York close, because the New York 17:00 close itself shifts in your local clock during DST transitions.
- Pending orders and stop losses are unaffected by DST; they execute on price, not on time.
- Overnight financing (swap) rollover times remain on server time and are not affected by DST.
Instrument-by-instrument impact
FX
FX continues to trade 24 hours through DST transitions. The practical effect is that the London open, New York open, and the European/US data release windows all shift by an hour in GMT terms during the DST gap weeks. If you read GMT-labelled time charts, expect the "London open spike" and similar landmarks to appear one hour earlier or later than usual.
Equity index and equity CFDs
S&P 500, NASDAQ-100, Dow Jones 30, FTSE 100, DAX, and Euro Stoxx 50 CFDs all follow their underlying exchanges. Their session opens and closes shift in GMT by one hour at each DST transition. Stop and limit orders placed at specific times of day on these instruments should be reviewed around DST transitions.
Energy CFDs
WTI and Brent CFDs follow NYMEX and ICE respectively. Both shift by an hour at their respective DST transitions (US DST for WTI, UK DST for Brent).
Metals and crypto
Spot metals and crypto CFDs trade continuously; their hours do not change with DST.
A practical recommendation
Around every DST transition, take five minutes to:
- Verify the current trading hours for each instrument you actively trade (Market Watch → right-click symbol → Specification).
- Re-confirm any time-based alerts you have set in the platform.
- Re-check the GMT time of the next scheduled economic release on your trading calendar; the shift is easy to miss in the first week.
The DST gap weeks are when traders most commonly mistime entries around news releases. Five minutes of verification on the Sunday evening before the transition prevents most of those mistakes.
This article is general information about scheduling around daylight saving time and does not constitute trading advice. CFDs are complex leveraged products and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly.
