Weekend Holding
Trading Rules & RestrictionsKeeping trading positions open from Friday market close through Monday market open. Weekend holding carries gap risk because markets can move significantly over the weekend due to geopolitical events.
Weekend holding is a subset of overnight holding and carries additional risk because the weekend gap can be much larger than an overnight gap. Markets are closed for approximately 48 hours over the weekend, and any major news during that time can cause a significant price gap on Monday open.
Most futures prop firms (TopStep, Apex) prohibit weekend holding. Forex-focused firms are more lenient -- FTMO, FundedNext, and The5%ers all allow weekend holding. This is because forex traders are accustomed to managing weekend gap risk.
For traders who use weekend holding as part of their strategy (e.g., holding a position initiated on Thursday for a weekly timeframe play), firm selection is critical. Being forced to close on Friday and re-enter on Monday adds transaction costs and creates the risk of entering at a worse price after a gap.
The5%ers $100K forex account: you buy GBP/USD at 1.2650 on Friday. Over the weekend, unexpected election results cause GBP to gap down. Monday open: 1.2550 (100 pip gap). With 2 standard lots, you are down $2,000 on open. With a 4% max drawdown ($4,000), this single gap consumed 50% of your total drawdown room.
Weekend Holding directly affects whether you pass or fail a prop firm evaluation. Unlike trading your own account where you can recover from mistakes over time, prop firm rules create hard boundaries -- violate them once and you lose your challenge fee and have to start over. Trading rules vary significantly between firms and can catch traders off guard. What is allowed at one firm may be a violation at another. Always verify weekend holding rules before placing your first trade on a new account.
Practical example across firms: FTMO and TopStep handle this differently. FTMO is a 2-step firm with static drawdown and a 5% daily loss limit, starting from €155. TopStep is a 1-step firm with trailing drawdown and a 2% daily loss limit, starting from $49. These structural differences mean your approach to weekend holding must adapt to whichever firm you choose.
Common mistake: Traders often carry over habits from one firm to another without checking the rules. News trading, overnight holding, weekend positions, and EA usage all vary by firm and sometimes by evaluation phase. Always verify before your first trade.
Overnight Holding
Keeping trading positions open past the daily market close. Some prop firms require all positions to be flat (closed) before the end of the trading session, while others allow positions to be held overnight.
News Trading Restriction
A rule prohibiting or limiting trading during major economic announcements like FOMC, NFP, and CPI releases. Firms restrict news trading because extreme volatility can cause rapid drawdown breaches.
Position Sizing
The process of determining how many contracts, lots, or shares to trade per position based on your account size, risk tolerance, and the distance to your stop-loss. Proper position sizing is the foundation of risk management.
Stop-Loss
A pre-set order to close a position at a specified price to limit losses. In prop trading, stop-losses are not optional -- trading without them means a single adverse move could breach drawdown limits and terminate the account.