Knockouts Market Information

Knockouts market hours 

Knockouts follow the same trading hours as their underlying market, which you can find here:

• Forex market hours 
• Indices market hours  
• Commodities market hours 

Full market hours are listed on the market information sheets in the trading platform. Open an account or try a demo account to see more. 

Knockouts types

There are two types of knockouts, UP KOs and DOWN KOs, and you can only hold a buying position.

• If you anticipate a rise in the price of the underlying asset, you’d buy an UP KO position
• If you anticipate a fall in the price of the underlying asset, you’d buy a DOWN KO position

Learn more about what Knockouts are. 

Knockout level

You set your Knockout level when opening a position. Each market has a minimum distance away from the underlying FOREX.com price, which you will see on the deal ticket.

If your Knockout level is reached, your position is immediately closed at 0 ensuring that any losses are limited to the amount you were willing to risk when opening the position.

See more about how to trade Knockouts. 

Knockout prices

The price of a Knockout is calculated as the distance between the price of the underlying market at the time of placing the trade and the Knockout level.

• For an UP KO trade: FOREX.com underlying Ask price - Knockout level
• For a DOWN KO trade: Knockout level - FOREX.com underlying bid price

Knockouts expiry dates

Knockouts have an expiry, but you can choose to close a position prior to the expiry date should you wish, for example to lock in profits. If your knockout level is triggered before the expiry date, the trade will be closed automatically for a loss.

For FX and indices Knockouts, positions are assigned a dynamic expiry date 12 months from the date of opening. Any positions held until expiry will be closed at 4PM EST on the expiry date. If the expiry date falls on a trading holiday, the position will be closed on the previous trading day (not business day).

For example, if you were to open an FX Knockout position on 1 June 2026, then your new expiry date would be 1 June 2027. If your position remained open until then, it would be closed automatically at 4 PM EST on 1 June 2027, or the previous trading day should that date fall on a trading holiday.

For Commodity Knockouts, market expiries are fixed regardless of when the position is opened and are based on the underlying futures market expiry date. The expiry date will be included in the Knockout market name.

Knockouts costs 

Spreads

Spreads are subject to fluctuation and may change, especially in volatile market conditions. The current spread of a Knockouts market at a given time can be viewed on the deal ticket in the trading platform. Knockout spreads cover the protection of the guaranteed Knockout level.

Maximum risk and margin requirement

The maximum risk is the maximum amount you can lose on the trade, should the market move against you and your Knockout level is reached.

It is calculated as: Knockout price x trade size.

The margin requirement for a Knockout trade – known as the 'premium required' – is calculated as: maximum risk x 1.1. 

The 1.1 multiplier is to comply with regulations.

Overnight financing on Knockouts

Should you hold a position overnight on either an FX or Index market, there will be an overnight financing adjustment. We use swap points to calculate the daily overnight financing adjustment amount for FX pairs, and use the underlying interbank rate (+/- 2.5%) when calculating financing on indices. Knockout positions held on commodities will not be charged overnight financing.

You can find more details on trading costs and charges page. 

Knockouts dividend adjustments

We periodically apply dividend adjustments to Knockouts index positions to take the ex-dividend adjustment to the underlying index into account.

There will be no material impact as, depending on the Knockout held, we will either credit or debit accounts for the dividends paid out on the underlying index. 

• For ‘UP KO’ index positions the dividend adjustment will be credited to your account
• For ‘DOWN KO’ index positions, the dividend adjustment will be debited from your account

Knockouts markets 

Forex Knockouts

Index Knockouts

Commodities & Metals Knockouts

*when compared with equivalent CFD market