Glossary
After-hours trading
Trading in US stocks after the 4:00 p.m. ET close, typically until 8:00 p.m., with thinner liquidity and wider spreads.
On this page
After-hours trading is the buying and selling of US-listed stocks in the session that follows the regular 4:00 p.m. Eastern close. On Nasdaq and on most NYSE venues it runs until 8:00 p.m. ET, as of 2026. The session matters because many companies release earnings and other news just after the close, and the first market reaction happens here, hours before the next regular open.
How it works
Orders in the post-market session are matched electronically on exchanges and alternative trading systems. Most brokers accept only limit orders, and many require you to mark the order as eligible for extended hours; a plain day order placed at 5 p.m. typically waits for the next regular session. Market-maker obligations and some protections that apply during the day do not apply, and the Limit Up-Limit Down bands only cover 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Risks to understand
- Thin liquidity. Far fewer participants means wider spreads and orders that may fill only partly or not at all.
- Volatility. Prices can swing hard on news, then reverse at the next open.
- Prices that do not carry over. A late quote is not the official close, and the regular-session open can be far from the last after-hours trade.
Overnight sessions that would extend trading toward 23 hours a day have been approved or proposed at several venues, but as of late 2026 none were live on a primary exchange.