Yes. Selfwealth offers trading of United States securities during both the pre-market and regular trading sessions. While the United States market officially opens at 9:30 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST) for the regular trading session, pre-market trading allows you to buy and sell stocks before the regular session begins.
When can I place a pre-market order?
Pre-market trading for the United States market is available from 4:00 AM to 9:30 AM EST
Selfwealth begins accepting pre-market orders for the next trading day once the market closes at 4:00 PM EST. These orders will remain in a pending state until the pre-market session opens on the following trading day.
For step-by-step instructions on how to place a pre-market order, please visit this article: US premarket order
What are the benefits of pre-market trading?
Pre-market trading allows you to respond to news and announcements outside of regular trading hours, which can cause significant price movements. Rather than waiting for the regular session to open, you can act on this information straight away and manage your positions as soon as the pre-market session begins.
What are the risks of pre-market trading?
Pre-market trading carries additional risks that you should be aware of before placing an order. Please consider the following carefully.
Lower liquidity
Liquidity refers to how easily shares can be bought and sold in the market. During pre-market hours, fewer participants are trading, which means there are fewer orders available. This can make it harder to buy or sell at a competitive price, and your order may only be partially filled or not filled at all.
Higher volatility
Volatility refers to how much the price of a security moves over a period of time. Pre-market trading can experience greater price swings than the regular session. As a result, you may receive a less favourable price than you would during regular trading hours.
Changing prices
Prices during pre-market trading may not reflect the closing price from the previous session or the opening price of the next regular session. This means the price you trade at may differ significantly from prices seen during regular trading hours.
Unlinked markets
Different pre-market trading systems may display different prices for the same security at the same time. As a result, the price available through Selfwealth may differ from prices shown on other platforms during the same pre-market session.
News announcements
Companies often release important announcements and financial information outside of regular trading hours. When combined with lower liquidity and higher volatility, these announcements can have a significant and sometimes short-lived impact on prices.
Wider spreads
The spread is the difference between the price you can buy a security for and the price you can sell it for. Lower liquidity during pre-market hours can result in wider spreads than you would typically see during the regular trading session.