What is After Hours trading?

vijkris

Learner and Follower
#11
Answer: The major stock exchanges have standard trading hours - set periods of time each day when trading occurs through the exchange. Most major exchanges trade from 9:30am to 4pm EST each day, with the first trade in the morning creating the opening price for a stock and the final trade before the end of trading at 4pm providing the day's closing price.

But there are actually, broadly speaking, three markets in which shares can be traded: pre-market, regular market and after-hours market. The regular market trades between 9:30am and 4pm EST; the pre-market trades from 8am to 9:30am EST; and the after-hours market trades from 4:30pm to 8pm EST. The pre- and after-hours markets function in the same fashion as the regular market in that the shares are traded between parties at an agreed upon price. In other words, the price you will receive is the price that someone in the after-hours or pre-market is willing to pay.

The major difference between the markets is that the pre- and after-hours markets will generally have less liquidity, more volatility and lower volume than the regular market. This can have a huge effect on the price you end up getting for your shares, so it is usually important to use a limit order on any shares that you buy or sell after normal trading hours.
However, once the regular market opens for the next day's trading (when most individual investors will have the opportunity to sell), the stock may not necessarily open at the same price at which it traded in the after-hours market. For example, if a stock's price increases greatly in the after-hours market due to a rumor of increased sales, there could be a lot of investors who want to sell immediately at the market open, increasing selling pressure and possibly driving the price of the stock down.

The price changes seen in the after-hours market are generally useful for showing how the market reacts to new information released after the regular market has closed. However, after-hours price changes are generally more volatile than regular-hours prices, so they shouldn't be relied on as a 100% accurate reflection of what a stock will trade at when the next regular session opens.

In the past, the average investor could only trade shares during regular market hours - after-hours trading was reserved for institutional investors. But with the advent of computers and electronic communication networks, today's markets are open more than ever, and individuals are free to trade after hours too. The day when investors will be able to trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week, may not be too far off.

AHT has developed to the point where all interested investors, big or small, have an opportunity to do business outside of standard hours. Just remember that while there are benefits to participating in AHT, you should also be mindful of the risks.
nice info. but this facility not available in IST, i think.
 
#14
After Hours trading is the period of time after the market closes when an investor can buy and sell securities outside of regular trading hours. Yes you can sill buy and sell stocks after the market closes. Many traders usually identify a profitable setup and place a limit order after hours so their order will be filled at their desired price or better when the stock market opens but the problem is that many buyers do the same thing and increase in demand cause the price of the stock to gap higher.
 
#17
After trading hours refers to the trading that takes place after the standard exchange timings.(after 3:30PM)
The main advantage of this type of trading is that it allows traders who are busy during the actual trading hours to trade after the market closes. What is important to note here is that orders will not be executed in these hours as the standard market timings have finished. So it only allows traders to place orders.
 
#20
I dont know properly but I read it somewhere. trading happens after 3:30 also

and only market orders are accepted no limit order. trading happens only for 10 mins. dont know much:(
This is post market settlement period only for members to participate not for regular traders. After market orders are different. AMO orders are used to place orders for next trading day when market is closed after 3.30pm.