How to Trade During Pre-Market and After-Hours: A Quick Guide

We’ve been getting multiple requests from our users asking how to trade during pre-market and after-hours sessions. This interest makes sense—many of our alerts happen during these extended trading timesTo help, here’s a quick overview of what pre-market and after-hours trading is and how you can participate.

What Are Pre-Market and After-Hours Trading?

Pre-market trading typically takes place before the stock market opens, starting as early as 4 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) and lasting until the regular market opens at 9:30 a.m. ET. After-hours trading begins once the market closes at 4 p.m. ET and can extend until 8 p.m. ET. Together, these periods are referred to as extended market hours.

During these times, trades are executed through electronic communication networks (ECNs) rather than traditional exchanges. This allows traders to respond to news, earnings reports, and other events that occur outside regular trading hours.

Why Trade During Extended Market Hours?

Extended trading hours allow you to act quickly on news and events that occur outside the standard trading session. For instance:
• Pre-Market Trading: React to overnight developments or market-moving news from Europe and Asia.
• After-Hours Trading: Respond to earnings releases or other announcements made after the regular market closes.

How to Trade During Extended Hours

If you want to participate in pre-market or after-hours trading, the first step is to contact your broker. Not all brokers offer access to these trading sessions, and those that do may have different rules and requirements. Here are a few key points to discuss with your broker:

• Availability of pre-market and after-hours trading.
• How to place orders during these times.

Some brokers, such as Interactive Brokers, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab, even offer overnight trading in addition to extended hours, allowing you to trade almost 24/5 on select securities.