Extended hours
Extended hours are the stretches before and after the 9:30am–4:00pm ET session when stocks still trade, but with far fewer buyers and sellers.
The regular US session runs 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern on weekdays. Trading also happens from 4:00am and until 8:00pm, which is when earnings reactions and overnight news first show up in prices.
Fewer participants means wider spreads and jumpier prices, so a dramatic move in extended hours often shrinks once the regular session opens.
In Stoxhatch
You can trade from 4:00am to 8:00pm ET on market days. Outside that the buttons say when the market next opens.
Related
- Quote — A quote is the current price of a stock: what buyers are offering, what sellers are asking, and what the last trade went through at.
- Market and limit orders — A market order buys at whatever the price is now; a limit order only buys at the price you name, or better.
Try it with $10,000 of simulated cash, no signup needed — or browse the rest of the glossary.