Traders who want to trade at any hour of the day now have the option to trade shares 24 hours a day during the week. A handful of brokers offer all-day trading, also known as night trading, so if you’re looking for a midnight stock snack, you’ll need an account there to satisfy your urge.
These are the brokers offering 24-hour stock trading that you should look out for.
24-hour stock trading: where to get started
Typically, brokers offering overnight trading are open from 8:00 PM ET on Sunday to 8:00 PM ET on Friday – essentially 24-hour trading, five days a week. The overnight session fills the gap between the pre-market session, the regular session and the after-hours session:
- Pre-market trading: 4:00 AM ET to 9:30 AM ET
- Regular trading: 9:30 AM ET to 4:00 PM ET
- Trading outside office hours: 4:00 PM ET to 8:00 PM ET
- Night trading: 8:00 PM ET to 4:00 AM ET
You have a number of choices when it comes to trading stocks and funds overnight, including the following brokers.
Robin Hood
At Robinhood, you can trade over 900 stocks and exchange-traded funds, including large caps like the Magnificent 7 stocks and other top large-cap funds. Since the start of overnight trading in mid-2023, the brokerage has rapidly expanded the number of securities available.
Interactive real estate agents
Interactive Brokers offers a robust after-hours selection of securities, including more than 10,000 US stocks, ETFs and US stock index options – virtually everything you’re likely to need. Clients must request permission to trade during the night session, and permission is typically granted at night.
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab offers overnight trading through its renowned thinkorswim platform. The brokerage offers a more limited selection of funds – just 23 as of April 2024 – but this selection may be sufficient for those looking to trade the most liquid names with one of the top brokers.
E-commerce
E-Trade’s overnight offering is more limited than others, but it does provide access to more than two dozen funds, including some of the most popular large-cap ETFs, particularly those based on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100. So you can go long on the market during the overnight session.
Best brokers for after-hours trading and pre-market trading
If you don’t really need 24-hour trading, there are plenty of other brokers that offer the option of trading within longer hours, including pre-market hours and after-market hours. Some brokers may offer pre-market or after-market hours that are shorter than the full extended session.
In addition to the brokers above, you can also trade outside regular hours with the following brokers (all times Eastern):
- Fidelity Investments: Fidelity offers extended hours from 7:00 AM to 9:30 AM and from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
- Merrill Edge: Merrill Rand offers extended hours from 7:00 AM to 9:30 AM and from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
- Webull: Webull offers full extended hours – From 4:00 AM to 9:30 AM and from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
- Delicious trade: Tastetrade offers extended opening hours from 8:00 am to 9:30 am and from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
- Ally Invest: Ally Invest offers extended hours from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM and from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
- First class: Firstrade offers extended hours from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM and from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
This list of brokers offering extended hours trading is not exhaustive and other brokers may also offer this feature. A great place to start is looking at the best stock trading brokers.
Risks and disadvantages of 24-hour stock trading
If you want to get a trade executed, 24-hour trading can make that possible, although it also comes with some other pros and cons.
- Less liquid: Stock and securities trading on the day market is less liquid than during the regular session. Fewer traders trade a smaller number of stocks, meaning the market lacks much depth. You may not be able to buy and sell at all, and the bid-ask spread will likely be wider than during the regular session, costing you money.
- Limited securities selection: While major securities like Microsoft and Apple have plenty of liquidity for retail traders, don’t expect small-cap stocks to be available. That and thousands of other stocks could be available overnight, but they may not be.
- Uncertain prices: While exchanges are necessary to reflect the best price at national locations during regular business hours, you may not be able to see the next price overnight.
- Higher volatility: The lack of liquidity also means that prices can be volatile from one day to the next. A stock may rise or fall after hours, but remains largely unaffected when the market opens the next morning.
- Ability to act on impulse: The opportunity to trade 24 hours a day may simply be too tempting for some who tend to trade on impulse and ‘need action’. The fact that “the casino is open all night” can seriously damage the bankroll of many traders.
For those looking to build long-term wealth, the advent of 24-hour trading will not have any impact on their ability to accumulate wealth. Here are the most important steps to becoming a millionaire.
In short
The ability to trade 24 hours a day can help those with a clear knowledge of the stock market, but long-term buy-and-hold investors may not find the extra hours all they need to invest. Less liquidity, a limited supply of stocks and uncertain prices make overnight trading riskier than regular trading.
