"Good morning (or afternoon, or evening, depending on when you're reading this!) aspiring trader! Are you eager to get a jump on the market, react to breaking news, or simply manage your investments outside of the traditional 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET trading window? If you're a Charles Schwab client, you're in luck! While the main U.S. stock exchanges operate on a set schedule, Schwab provides ample opportunities for extended-hours trading, allowing you to trade earlier and later than most.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about trading early on Charles Schwab, from understanding the different sessions to placing your first extended-hours order.
Understanding Extended Hours Trading at Charles Schwab
Before we dive into the "how-to," it's crucial to grasp what extended hours trading entails and how it differs from regular market hours.
What are Regular Market Hours?
The standard U.S. stock market hours are 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, excluding market holidays. During these hours, liquidity is generally highest, and all order types are typically accepted.
What are Extended Hours Trading Sessions?
Charles Schwab offers various extended hours trading sessions, categorized into:
- Pre-Market Session: This occurs before the regular market opens.
- After-Hours Session: This occurs after the regular market closes.
- Extended + Overnight Sessions (24/5 Trading): This is a continuous trading session available on specific platforms for a select group of securities.
These extended sessions allow you to react to news, earnings reports, or global market movements that happen outside of standard trading times.
Step 1: Confirm Your Charles Schwab Account is Ready for Extended Hours Trading
First things first, let's make sure your account is set up to take advantage of these opportunities.
Sub-heading: Account Type and Funding
- Most Charles Schwab brokerage accounts are automatically eligible for extended hours trading of listed equities. There aren't specific "active trader" requirements in terms of minimum trades or account balances just to access extended hours.
- However, ensure your account is funded. While you can place orders with recent deposits for marginable securities, non-marginable securities, options, equities trading below $1.00, and futures typically require cleared funds before order entry. MoneyLink deposits can take up to three business days to clear.
Sub-heading: Understanding the Risks
Before you jump in, it's vital to acknowledge the inherent risks associated with extended hours trading. These sessions often have:
- Lower Liquidity: Fewer participants mean fewer buyers and sellers, which can lead to wider bid-ask spreads (the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay and the lowest price a seller is willing
to accept). This can impact your execution price. - Higher Volatility: Prices can fluctuate more dramatically due to lower trading volume and rapid reactions to news.
- Uncertain Prices: Quotes you see might only reflect one trading venue and may not represent the best available price across all markets.
- Limited Order Types: Generally, only limit orders are accepted during extended hours to protect investors from unexpectedly bad prices. Market orders are usually not allowed.
- No Index Value Calculation: For some index-based products, their underlying index values are not calculated during extended hours.
Are you comfortable with these heightened risks? If so, proceed to the next step!
Step 2: Choose Your Trading Platform
Charles Schwab offers several platforms, and your choice can influence the exact extended hours available to you.
Sub-heading: Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile
These are the primary online and mobile interfaces for most retail investors. They offer access to standard pre-market and after-hours sessions.
- Pre-market session: Eligible for execution from 7:00 AM to 9:25 AM ET. Orders can be placed between 8:05 PM ET (previous trading day) and 9:25 AM ET.
- After-hours session: Eligible for execution from 4:05 PM to 8:00 PM ET. Orders can be placed between 4:05 PM and 8:00 PM ET.
Sub-heading: thinkorswim® Platforms (Desktop and Mobile)
For more advanced traders, the thinkorswim platform (both desktop and mobile versions) provides the most extensive extended hours trading capabilities.
- Pre-market session: Eligible for execution from 7:00 AM to 9:25 AM ET.
- After-hours session: Eligible for execution from 4:05 PM to 8:00 PM ET.
- Extended + Overnight (24/5) sessions: This is a continuous trading session available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week (Sunday 8:00 PM ET to Friday 4:00 PM ET, excluding market holidays) for over 800 popular stocks and ETFs, including all S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow 30 components, plus over 200 ETFs.
If you plan on frequent extended-hours trading, especially overnight, thinkorswim is the platform of choice.
Step 3: Placing Your Extended Hours Order
Now that you understand the sessions and platforms, let's get to the nitty-gritty of placing an order.
Sub-heading: Essential: Use a Limit Order
As mentioned, only limit orders are accepted for extended hours trading on Schwab. This is a crucial safety measure.
- A limit order allows you to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay when buying a security or the minimum price you're
willing to accept when selling. This helps protect you from adverse price movements in less liquid extended hours.
Sub-heading: Specifying "Time in Force" for Extended Hours
This is the most critical part of ensuring your order is eligible for extended hours execution. When placing an order, you'll need to select a "Time in Force" option that includes extended hours.
For Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile:
- Extended Hours A.M.: Good for the morning pre-market session only (7:00 AM - 9:25 AM ET).
- Extended Hours P.M.: Good for the evening after-hours session only (4:05 PM - 8:00 PM ET).
- Day + Extended Hours: Your order will be active during regular market hours and then carry over into that day's extended hours session (until 8:00 PM ET).
- GTC + Extended Hours (Good-Till-Canceled): This order will remain active for up to 180 calendar days, valid during all equity trading sessions (7:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET each day). This is ideal if you want your order to persist across multiple extended sessions.
For thinkorswim Platforms:
thinkorswim offers even more nuanced "Time in Force" options for extended hours:
- EXT (Extended Hours): This typically covers the combined pre-market and after-hours sessions (7:00 AM - 8:00 PM ET).
- EXTO (Extended + Overnight): This is for the 24/5 continuous trading. When placing an EXTO order, it will be active immediately and remain active until 8:00 PM ET of that day (unless GTC is selected, in which case it remains active for 180 days across all 24/5 sessions).
Sub-heading: Step-by-Step on Schwab.com (Example)
Let's imagine you want to buy 10 shares of a hypothetical stock, "XYZ," in the pre-market session.
- Log in to your Charles Schwab account.
- Navigate to the "Trade" section.
- Enter the symbol (e.g., XYZ) and select "Buy."
- On the order entry screen, specify:
- Action: Buy
- Quantity: 10
- Order Type: Limit (this is crucial!)
- Limit Price: Enter the maximum price you're willing to pay (e.g., $50.00).
- Timing (Time in Force): Select "Extended Hours A.M." if you want it specifically for the pre-market that day, or "Day + Extended Hours" or "GTC + Extended Hours" if you want it active for a longer duration through both regular and extended hours.
- Review your order carefully. Double-check the symbol, quantity, price, and especially the "Time in Force."
- Place Order.
Remember: If you're on thinkorswim, the interface will look different, but the principles of using a limit order and selecting the appropriate extended hours "Time in Force" (EXT or EXTO) remain the same.
Step 4: Monitoring Your Extended Hours Orders
Once you've placed your order, it's important to monitor its status.
Sub-heading: Order Status
- Your order will show as "Open" or "Working" until it is either filled or expires.
- Due to lower liquidity, your limit order may not be fully executed, or it might be partially filled.
Sub-heading: Real-time Quotes
- Ensure you are viewing real-time quotes, especially during extended hours. On Schwab platforms, you can often toggle to see extended hours quotes. Keep in mind that these quotes may not be consolidated from all venues.
Step 5: Be Aware of Market Holidays and Early Closures
Just like regular trading, extended hours trading observes market holidays.
- Charles Schwab publishes a 2025 Stock Exchange and Bank Holidays Calendar which clearly outlines days the market is closed or has early closures.
- For example, on certain days like the day before Independence Day, the day after Thanksgiving, and the day before Christmas, the NYSE, NYSE AMEX, and NASDAQ may close trading early (at 1:00 PM ET). This will affect when extended hours sessions begin or end on those days. Always check the calendar if you plan to trade around holidays.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are 10 common questions about early trading on Charles Schwab, with quick answers:
How to access pre-market trading on Charles Schwab?
You can access pre-market trading on Charles Schwab through Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, or the thinkorswim platforms by placing a limit order and selecting an extended hours "Time in Force" like "Extended Hours A.M.," "Day + Extended Hours," or "GTC + Extended Hours." On thinkorswim, use "EXT" or "EXTO."
How to place an after-hours order with Charles Schwab?
To place an after-hours order, use Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, or thinkorswim. Choose a limit order and select an extended hours "Time in Force" such as "Extended Hours P.M.," "Day + Extended Hours," or "GTC + Extended Hours." On thinkorswim, "EXT" or "EXTO" will also work.
How to trade 24/5 on Charles Schwab?
24/5 continuous trading is available exclusively on the thinkorswim platforms (desktop and mobile) for over 800 popular stocks and ETFs. When placing an order, select the "EXTO" (Extended + Overnight) time in force.
How to find out which stocks can be traded 24/5 on Schwab?
Charles Schwab's documentation states that over 800 popular stocks and ETFs, including all stocks in the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow 30, plus over 200 exchange-traded funds, are available for 24/5 trading on thinkorswim. You can likely find a detailed list within the thinkorswim platform or by contacting Schwab support.
How to see extended hours quotes on Schwab platforms?
Quotes on Schwab platforms will typically display real-time data. For extended hours, you may need to ensure you're viewing the correct data feed or explicitly enable extended hours quotes, which is often an option within the quote display settings of the platform.
How to avoid risks in extended hours trading with Schwab?
To mitigate risks, always use limit orders, understand that liquidity is lower, be aware of wider bid-ask spreads, and conduct thorough research on any news or events impacting the security you intend to trade. Consider starting with smaller positions.
How to cancel an extended hours order on Charles Schwab?
You can cancel an open extended hours order the same way you would cancel a regular market order: go to your "Order Status" or "Open Orders" section on Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, or thinkorswim and select the option to cancel the specific order.
How to know Charles Schwab's market holiday schedule for extended hours?
Charles Schwab publishes an annual Stock Exchange and Bank Holidays Calendar on their website. It's crucial to check this calendar for specific dates, as both regular and extended trading hours will be affected by market holidays and early closures.
How to get help with extended hours trading from Charles Schwab?
Charles Schwab offers 24/7 client service. You can contact their trading specialists by phone or through in-platform chat on thinkorswim for assistance with strategy, placing trades, or platform navigation.
How to differentiate between various "Time in Force" options for extended hours on Schwab?
"Time in Force" options like "Extended Hours A.M.," "Extended Hours P.M.," "Day + Extended Hours," and "GTC + Extended Hours" (on
