extended hours stock trade?

[sandmanwake]

Anyone do this? I'm just wondering whether or not to enable the extended hour trading option on my Datek account. Just how much more volitile is the market before and after normal trading hours? Good idea, bad idea, what's your take on whether or not a non-professional should or should not be doing extended hours trading.

 

[KBtrade]

sandmanwake, just because you enable extended hour trading does not mean you have to use it. If you do decide to trade afterhours just do it when you can be in front of your computer as it can get very volitile, Island Book ECN is very good for watching Datek trades...Good luck!

 

[thebestMAX]

Fewer trades=lower volume=more volitile.

Enable it but use it to your advantage only. Easy to say but it is just another tool available to you.

I dont like extended hours or pre market myself but why fight a losing battle?

 

[callspread]

At the moment most stocks are really quite thin after the normal close. Something such as Intel is still 1/16 wide, and you can trade it all you want, but the less liquid stocks may well not trade at all. Many of the Nasdaq stocks just have a couple of quotes very wide, and with nobody actively trading it you will not get filled on a limit order (unless you are hitting the bid/offer), and a market order is not advisable. The same for NYSE stocks, except I think that they trade on the ECNs after hours.

I don't know how the discount brokers work in afterhours - usually they sell their orderflow to a specialist, eg on the Chicago Stock Exchange, but I don't know who executes their orders in the evening. Nasdaq stocks will just go onto their ECN as usual.

Callspread

 

[Unclemo]

Any broker I have seen does not even offer market orders for after hours... I can't imagine a brokerage doing that...

 

[thebestMAX]

UNCLEMO-

Waterhouse does but only on line, I think.
Worked for me several times as you can only put in a limit order to buy.
Never tried to sell. Risky as described.