eToro, a social trading platform, has unveiled a new initiative aimed at appealing to younger generations of investors. The platform will now provide extended trading hours, allowing for more flexible trading in popular US companies, similar to the currency and Cryptocurrency markets. This move will initially grant individual investors an additional three hours of trading, with the potential for further extensions in the future.
eToro’s offering includes pre-market trading, enabling investors to engage with the market at more convenient times. The extended trading hours create opportunities for taking action on out-of-hours events such as earnings reports or significant macroeconomic developments.
To access this feature, users can utilize separate contracts for difference (CFDs) specifically designed for extended hours of trading. Stocks available for extended hours trading can be found under the .EXT ticker for the respective stock. These extended-hours instruments are CFDs, and there will be no difference in fees between after-hours and regular-hours trading. However, due to changes in trading liquidity, spreads may vary.
Upon launch, ten stocks, including Tesla, Amazon, Apple, Nio, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, Nvidia, GameStop, and Netflix, will be available, with the promise of post-market functionality in the near future.
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The expansion of trading hours brings several benefits to eToro users. It enables real-time responses to news events and data, provides flexibility for trading based on individual schedules, and mitigates risk by staying ahead of market reactions. Moreover, this move is anticipated to increase user engagement, as observed in the 24/7 Cryptocurrency markets. In fact, Bitcoin (BTC) emerged as the most popular instrument among eToro customers in the second quarter of 2023, largely due to its constant availability.
eToro’s decision aligns with a broader trend among CFDs brokers, who are increasingly striving to offer extended trading hours. While traditionally limited to 24/5 availability, these brokers are now expanding their services to weekends, partially driven by the popularity of cryptocurrencies. Young investors seek the ability to invest anywhere and at any time, and brokers are adapting to meet these expectations.
