Pre-market and after-hours trading

Pre-market and after-hours are the thin sessions around the US day: pre-market from 1:30 PM IST, after-hours until 5:30 AM IST, an hour later from November to March. Spreads are wide and volume is low, and most companies publish results into the after-hours book, so the reaction shows up as a gap at the next open.

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  • VolumeVolume is how many shares or contracts changed hands in a period. About half of US stock volume is filled off exchange…
  • Overnight session (24-hour stock trading)The overnight session is US stock trading through the American night, which is the Indian working day, on a handful of…
  • Opening auctionThe opening auction is the single trade that starts the US day at 7:00 PM IST, 8:00 PM in winter. Orders collect…
  • Closing auction (official close)The closing auction is the single matched trade at 1:30 AM IST, 2:30 AM in winter, that sets each US stock's official…
  • NASDAQNasdaq is the American exchange that began in 1971 as one screen showing every dealer quote side by side, the first…
  • Earnings season / earnings reportEarnings season is the weeks after each quarter ends when most US companies report, starting with the big banks around…

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