Extended Hours Trading is made possible by market centers that match bids to offers electronically.
Schwab's Extended Hours Trading offering has two components: the Pre Market and the After Hours sessions. Both sessions are independent from the Standard Market Session.
Most NASDAQ and listed securities are currently eligible for extended hours trading at Schwab. However, at any time, any number of securities may not be available due to lack of trading interest during the Extended Hours Trading Session.
Only limit orders are accepted during extended hours. The maximum order size is 25,000 shares.
Quotes for the Extended Hours Trading session reflect the best Bid (buy) and Ask (sell) orders currently available through the participating market centers.
You can attempt to change or cancel an Extended Hours order within the same Extended Hours session, as long as the status of your order is open. Go to the Order Status tab of your Account Details tool to access the change/cancel features, or access via the Order Status Indicator.
Unexecuted orders do not carry over into the next Standard or Extended Hours Trading Session. Any open orders will be automatically canceled at the end of the current Pre-Market or After Hours session.
Unexecuted Direct Access Routes orders will not carry over to the next day. If a Direct Access order is not executed, it will automatically be canceled at the time the market center (to which you routed your order) closes.
Direct Access orders that are not auto-canceled will be outed at the time the venue (to which you routed your order) closes.
Extended Hours Trading Sessions may not be suitable for all investors since they pose certain risks including, but not limited to: lower liquidity, changing prices, news announcements, higher volatility, and wider spreads.
Extended Hours Trading Sessions do not take place on official Exchange holidays or when the Exchanges close early. Schwab reserves the right to change or modify the hours of operation at any time. A Schwab Extended Hours Trading Session, or any security traded therein, may be temporarily or permanently suspended without prior notice at any time at our discretion.
For certain Derivative Securities Products, an updated underlying index value or IIV may not be calculated or publicly disseminated in extended trading hours. Since the underlying index value and IIV are not calculated or widely disseminated during the pre-market and post-market sessions an investor who is unable to calculate implied values for certain Derivative Securities Products in those sessions may be at a disadvantage to market professionals.
With Direct Access, you can send orders for NASDAQ equities direct to ECNs. Unlike orders sent to Schwab for execution, direct access orders sent during the extended hours can remain on the ECN's book for all sessions, if you have changed your ECN Auto-Cancel setting to zero. This means they will not be outed, or canceled at the end of the Pre-Market session nor at the end of the standard trading session. ECNs have one trading session, which lasts from the time they open for business until their designated closing time.
NOTE: Listed securities participating in the extended hours sessions and all short sales will continue to be routed using Schwab's Extended Hours offerings.