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Traditional market hours, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., are becoming increasingly irrelevant as technology connects investors across the globe at all hours of the day and night. Twenty-four-hour trading, initially limited to foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency, is slowly expanding to include stocks and ETFs, driven by investor demand, globalization, and technological advancements.
Whether you’re a night owl interested in East Asian economic policy or a disciplined investor seeking to capitalize on global breaking news outside traditional business hours, 24-hour trading requires you to do your homework. Trading after hours offers flexibility and the opportunity for investors to react quickly to global news, but it also raises concerns about illiquidity and volatility in thin markets. To find success in a 24-hour market without losing sleep, investors must weigh the pros and cons and use strategies, tools, and discipline.
Key Takeaways
- 24-hour trading offers increased flexibility and the ability to react to global news events.
- It provides opportunities for profit outside traditional market hours.
- Potential downsides include increased risk, lower liquidity, and wider spreads.
- Investors should understand market mechanics and set appropriate limits before engaging in 24-hour trading.
- Recent regulatory changes and market developments are facilitating the shift towards 24-hour trading.
Understanding 24-Hour Trading
Twenty-four-hour trading is the ability to trade financial assets outside of traditional market hours. Traditionally, stock exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq dictated trading hours, operating from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.
However, both the NYSE and the Nasdaq are moving toward extended hours. The NYSE has announced plans to expand trading on its Arca Equities Exchange to a 22/5 schedule. Nasdaq is scheduled to move to a 24/5 schedule in late 2026. Meanwhile, the 24X National Exchange, which will trade 23/5, will begin operating in September 2025.
Other markets, such as the forex and cryptocurrency markets, operate 24 hours a day, thanks in part to a shift away from manual trading models and the emergence of online platforms that connect global markets. As technology continues to evolve and the global economy is increasingly interconnected, some brokers are expanding access to stocks and ETFs during extended hours and even offering full 24-hour trading sessions.
Pros of 24-Hour Trading
Insomniacs are not the only ones who can benefit from 24-hour trading. Round-the-clock trading provides investors with unique opportunities to respond to global news events and capitalize on market reactions outside of traditional trading hours.
Flexibility and Accessibility
In a technologically interconnected society, where investors can reach around the world with the touch of a button, 24-hour trading provides investors with the flexibility to trade at times that suit them, respond more quickly to global events, and gain broader access to international markets. By expanding trading hours across various investments, investors can align their trading patterns with their goals without being bound to Wall Street’s clock.
Opportunities for Profit
Market-moving events, such as global geopolitical tensions, trade agreements, international banking strategy updates, and currency valuations, don’t wait on Wall Street.
Note
Markets tend to overreact to news from corporations, particularly after-hours earnings announcements, which can create volatility and significant price swings before prices settle into more accurate valuations.
These swings bred profit opportunities for investors who pay attention. In an expanded 24-hour trading model, investors can capitalize on temporary volatility without waiting for traditional market hours to open.
Cons of 24-Hour Trading
There are two sides to every coin, and 24-hour trading has some potential downsides that investors should note before committing to trades across all time zones.
Increased Volatility and Risk
During non-peak hours, fewer trades occur. This lower trading volume often leads to higher price volatility, as there are fewer investors to trade at desired prices, and a single trade can cause prices to fluctuate significantly. While some investors can leverage these price swings to their advantage, the volatility can lead to greater losses if not carefully managed, especially given how quickly prices can jump.
Lower Liquidity Concerns
Trading outside of regular market hours typically results in lower trading volume. Not having a buyer for every seller and vice versa leads to unpredictable market behavior, especially in assets with wide bid-ask spreads. During low liquidity periods, orders may go unfulfilled, eroding profits and causing markets to slip.
Trading Strategies and Tips for 24-Hour Trading
Trading in a 24-hour market is not like saddling up to a buffet and deciding on the spot what looks good. Investors who want to be successful in 24-hour trading should consider several key factors and strategies before putting on their stretchy pants and placing their orders.
Understand Market Mechanics
Only some assets are currently available to trade after hours, and in many cases, different assets have different trading platforms. Understanding what assets trade and where they trade is the first step in successful 24-hour trading.
Additionally, each asset operates according to its own set of rules. Investors, at a minimum, need to know when the asset settles, which platforms are least prone to glitches or technical issues, and regulations that may impact trades. To fully grasp market mechanics, investors must understand what happens to asset prices when markets are less active, including price swings, unpredictability, and volatility.
Set Appropriate Limits
Twenty-four-hour trading invites opportunities, but it also opens the door wide to burnout and the potential for tired, sloppy mistakes. Successful 24-hour investors must have limits as a measure of protection and clarity and not restriction. These limits may be position limits, stop orders, or time limits, but whatever limits investors decide are appropriate for them, they must adhere to. It’s easy to grab an energy drink and power through when motivated by FOMO or ambition, but without limits, it’s easy to overtrade, chase losses, and trade on emotion and not facts.
Use Limit Orders
In 24-hour trading, especially with volatile assets like forex and crypto, prices may swing dramatically during traditional after-market hours. To avoid constant attention to the markets, investors can use limit orders to execute trades when conditions are met, thereby protecting themselves from orders filling at unfavorable prices when liquidity is thin.
Tip
There is no need to stare at charts at 2 a.m., waiting for dips or peaks to be a successful 24-hour trader. Strategically placed limit orders can capture peaks or dips from breaking news and execute trades while the investor attends to other tasks, like sleep.
Start Small
New investors learning the rhythm and peculiarities of 24-hour trading don’t have to go all-in on day one. Testing their strategies with small trades allows investors to gain a better understanding of overnight volatility and platform glitches or quirks. By starting small, investors limit risk while building not only their portfolios but also their confidence and experience in non-traditional market conditions during non-traditional market hours.
Regulatory and Market Developments
Some platforms, such as Blue Ocean Alternative Trading System (ATS) and Interactive Brokers, expanded their overnight offerings in 2022 and 2023 to include popular ETFs and equities. More recently, the NYSE, 24 Exchange, and the Nasdaq have announced plans to move to 22/5, 23/5, and 24/5 trading, respectively.
One of the largest hurdles to extended trading on any exchange was after-hours access to the Securities Information Processors (SIPs) that provide real-time quotes. In the spring of 2025, the SIPs operating committees announced their intent to expand their operating hours to include near-24-hour access during the week. With this hurdle surmounted, other exchanges will also have a clear path forward to expand trading models closer to 24-hour trading.
How Does 24-Hour Trading Impact Traditional Trading Strategies?
Trading outside of traditional market hours provides investors with flexibility and access, but also increases concerns about liquidity and volatility.
Traditional trading strategies remain applicable, but investors must reconsider timing-based approaches, such as gap trading. In after-hours markets, where liquidity and volatility fluctuate more widely, investors have an increasing need for automation to prevent market execution at unfavorable prices.
When markets never sleep, investors must establish their own limits and stick to them to avoid overtrading, chasing losses, and burnout.
What Are the Most Popular Markets for 24-Hour Trading?
Forex and cryptocurrency markets originated the 24-hour trading model and remain popular assets to trade around the clock. However, with the promise of expanded trading hours on popular exchanges like NYSE and Nasdaq, and as alternative trading systems like Blue Ocean ATS make some stocks and ETFs available 24 hours a day, they are quickly gaining popularity.
What Tools or Platforms Are Best for 24-Hour Trading?
The best tools or platforms for 24-hour trading depend on what assets investors intend to trade. The best platforms will allow limit, stop-loss, and conditional orders, provide custom alerts and watchlists, and give access to expanded charting. Automation is a necessary tool for 24-hour traders, and investors should look for API access to custom bots and built-in automated trading tools when evaluating platforms.
The Bottom Line
Twenty-four-hour trading is transforming the way investors interact with global markets and broadening access to opportunities. Investing, whether during traditional market hours or after them, is an inherently risky endeavor. The challenges presented by thinner markets and increased volatility in 24-hour trading require investors to understand market mechanics, proactively manage risk, and utilize personal limits and automated limit orders to trade successfully around the clock.
