Blog · Exchanges
Stocks, crypto and forex: how the data differs, and what changes in your code
Three markets, three clocks, three ideas of what “volume” means. If you build or trade across them, these differences decide whether your charts can be trusted.
A candle is a candle, until you put a stock chart, a crypto chart and a forex chart side by side. They open at different times, some never close, and the volume bar under each one measures something different. Traders and developers who move between markets get caught by the same handful of differences.
Three markets, three clocks
What actually differs in the data
| Stocks & F&O | Crypto | Forex (spot) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Central exchange | Many exchanges, prices differ | Over the counter, no central venue |
| Hours | Fixed sessions, holidays | Always open | Weekdays, around the clock |
| Volume | Real traded quantity | Per-exchange; quality varies | Usually tick volume (price changes) |
| Daily candle | Session open to close | Depends on the chosen time zone | Commonly the New York 5 pm close |
| Gaps | Overnight and weekend gaps | Almost none | Weekend gap only |
| Open interest | Published for derivatives | Per-exchange for perpetuals | Not for spot |
What changes in your code
- Always store UTC, display local. A crypto daily candle computed in UTC and one in IST are different candles.
- Define “daily” explicitly per market. Session-based for equities; a chosen cut-off for 24-hour markets.
- Never compare volume across markets. Exchange quantity, per-venue crypto volume and forex tick volume are different quantities.
- Handle the calendar. Holidays matter for equities, weekends for forex, nothing for crypto — and your indicators must know which. The market data glossary defines the terms.
Rules Indian traders must know
- Forex: resident Indians may trade currency derivatives on recognised Indian exchanges in INR pairs and a few permitted crosses. RBI publishes an alert list of unauthorised forex trading platforms; trading on them is not permitted.
- Crypto: gains on virtual digital assets are taxed at a flat 30% (section 115BBH), 1% TDS applies on transfers above the threshold (section 194S), and losses cannot be set off against other income.
A worked example: one day, three different candles
Take a single calendar day and ask each market for its “daily candle”:
- An NSE stock returns one candle for the session, 09:15 to 15:30 IST. Everything outside the session belongs to no candle at all.
- A crypto pair returns a candle from midnight to midnight — but whose midnight? A UTC candle runs 05:30 to 05:30 IST, so an Indian trader’s “today” is split across two of them.
- A forex pair usually closes its day at 5 pm New York time, which falls at 02:30 or 03:30 IST depending on US daylight saving — so the forex day also shifts twice a year.
Put indicators with a daily lookback on all three and they are measuring three different windows. For comparisons across markets, resample everything to the same UTC boundaries first.
Symbols and contracts: three naming systems
| Market | Example | What to handle |
|---|---|---|
| Indian equity | RELIANCE | Series, corporate actions, index membership over time |
| Indian F&O | NIFTY futures, weekly and monthly options | Expiry dates, strikes, lot sizes that change |
| Indian currency derivatives | USD-INR futures and options | Exchange sessions, expiry cycle, contract size |
| Crypto | BTC/USDT on a given exchange | Venue as part of the symbol; quote currency |
| Global forex | EUR/USD | Base versus quote; broker-specific suffixes |
Building one application across all three
A multi-market app needs one internal model that every feed maps into: a symbol record that includes the venue, a timestamp in UTC, a session calendar per market, and a clear flag for what “volume” means in each source. Get that model right first and adding a market is a connector; get it wrong and every new market is a rewrite. It is the first thing our engineering team designs when it builds trading applications.
- Equities trade in sessions, crypto never stops, forex closes only at weekends.
- “Volume” and “daily candle” mean different things in each market.
- Store UTC, define sessions explicitly, never compare volume across markets.
- In India, forex is exchange-traded and INR-based; crypto gains face a flat 30% tax.
Sources: Income-tax Act, 1961, sections 115BBH and 194S. Reserve Bank of India, Alert List of unauthorised forex trading platforms. Exchange circulars on trading hours and currency derivatives.
Questions traders ask
Is forex trading legal in India?
Resident Indians may trade currency derivatives on recognised Indian exchanges, in INR pairs and a few permitted cross pairs. RBI maintains an alert list of unauthorised forex platforms that residents should not use.
How is crypto taxed in India?
Gains on virtual digital assets are taxed at a flat 30% under section 115BBH, with 1% TDS on transfers above the threshold under section 194S, and losses cannot be set off against other income.
Why does forex volume differ between data providers?
Spot forex trades over the counter with no central exchange, so there is no single consolidated volume. Most feeds report tick volume, a count of price changes, which differs by provider.
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