Pre-Market Trading
Trading before the 9:30 AM ET open, typically from 4:00 AM to 9:30 AM ET. Used to react to overnight news, data, and earnings.
Pre-market trading runs from 4:00 AM to 9:30 AM ET. Traders use it to position for the open after overnight developments: economic data releases (jobs reports, CPI), geopolitical events, and company announcements.
Like after-hours, pre-market trading is thin — spreads are wide and small orders can move prices sharply. Price discovery in pre-market tends to be noisier but does converge toward the true opening price as the regular session approaches and more participants join.
Many platforms restrict retail access to certain pre-market hours and require limit orders only. Market orders in pre-market are generally a poor idea given the liquidity conditions.