Trading June 20, 2019 After Hours Trading: Will It Work for You By Lee Bohl Have you ever turned on the news and heard reports on how a company is doing in after-hours trading after a big earnings announcement? Have you wondered what after-hours trading actually is and how it works, and what risks are involved? Here are some answers. What is after hours trading? Normal market hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. After-hours trading occurs after the markets close. There is also a session prior to the market’s open which is called the pre-market session. Together both sessions are referred to as extended-hours trading. How does it work? Extended-hours trading is made possible by computerized order matching systems called electronic markets. An electronic market is simply a service that matches up buy and sell orders. For example, if you place an order to buy 200 shares at $45, the computer looks to see if there is an order to sell at least 200 shares at $45. If there is, the trade is done, if not, then the order will not be filled. At Schwab, clients can place orders for after-market trading and execution between 4:05 and 8 p.m. ET. Commissions and settlement times are the same as for the regular session. There are, though, several differences between regular session trading and after-hours trading. For example, in the after-hours session, not all order types are accepted. Traders can only use limit orders to buy, sell, or short. Stop and stop-limit orders, and orders with special conditions such as fill-or-kill, immediate-or-cancel, or all-or-none, can’t be placed. Also, after-hours orders are only good for the particular session in which they are placed and do not carry over into any other session. What are some of the advantages of after-hours trading? There are several potential benefits for after-hours trading: Convenience: Some traders simply aren’t able to place trades during the normal session due to their schedules. The after-hours session allows them to check out the current quotes and potentially place a trade at a more convenient time. Ability to react to news events: Many companies release earnings after the close of the regular session. After-hours traders can immediately place trades to manage their positions without having to wait until the next day’s open and potentially miss meaningful price swings. The example below shows Intel Corp (INTC) making a big move after hours after releasing their earnings report. Source: StreetSmart Edge® Are there any risks? While trading in the after-hours session can offer opportunities, there are unique risks to be considered. Uncertain prices: In the regular session, the quotes you see are consolidated and represent the best available prices across all trading venues. In the after-hours market, on the other hand, you may only see prices from one venue, and these may not reflect the prices displayed in other electronic trading systems for the same security. Lower liquidity: Because generally fewer shares trade after hours, there can be wide spreads between the bid (the highest price offered by all buyers) and the ask (the lowest price offered by all sellers). Some stocks may simply not trade after hours. Lack of calculation of index values: For traders dealing with certain index-based products, the lack of calculation or dissemination of index values in the after-market could put an individual investor at a disadvantage to those professionals who have access to proprietary systems that can quickly calculate index values based on individual stock prices. The decision to trade after hours depends, of course, on your investment goals, trading style, and risk tolerance. While trading in the extended sessions is not for everybody, for those traders who understand both the potential risks and opportunities, it is certainly an avenue to explore. Standard market vs. extended hours sessions Standard Market Pre-Market and After Hours Trading Orders can be placed at any time and will only be executed from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET Pre-market: Orders can be placed between 8:05 p.m. (previous trading day) and 9:25 a.m. ET and will be eligible for execution between 7:00 a.m. and 9:25 a.m. ET After-hours: Orders can be placed and are eligible for execution between 4:05 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Trading primarily occurs on exchanges (NYSE Euronext and other regional markets) and on NASDAQ through a variety of venues including market makers and ECNs Trading occurs through a leading electronic market Many order types and restrictions are accepted, including: market, limit, stop-limit, all-or-none, etc. Only limit orders for the particular extended hours session are accepted All order sizes are accepted 25,000 shares is the maximum quantity on a single order Many security types are available, including: stocks, options, bonds, mutual funds, etc. Most listed and NASDAQ securities are available in the extended hours session Different time limits are available, including: Day, GTC, IOC and FOK All orders are only good for the particular session in which they are placed; there is no carryover into any following session In general, higher trading activity means more liquidity and a greater likelihood of order execution Lower trading activity may result in lower likelihood of order execution, wider spreads and greater price fluctuation The quotes you receive are consolidated and represent the best available prices across all trading venues; market makers and specialists work to ensure customers get the best buy or sell prices displayed on NASDAQ and the exchanges Quotes are not consolidated and represent the current prices available through the Electronic Market; as a participant in the Extended Hours Trading Network, the Electronic Market may also offer access to prices available on other participating Electronic Markets, but not necessarily all venues open for EHT From the Schwab site. There is no more manual charge.
To clarify it was at Fidelity. It was/is McDonalds...It closed at $198.17. I put my price in at $197.99 and after hours it hit $197.60 before ending back up at $198.17. It was/is 100 shares (don't want odd lots...Want to do a covered call...Leap Jan 21). I will keep my price over the weekend. I have insomnia...Which is NOT good for trading!! I will get up many days at 10-10:30 am Pacific time. The market is 1/2 over...It is what it is. So often I will get price improvement overnight/weekend. Say bad news from the company occurred overnight (they were found to be clubbing baby Arctic seals to lubricate their Coke machines), I will pick up the stock for much less than my ask price. Because of my sleep situation, I will check the news late at night (cancel if necessary)...After than, I just have to run with it. Just me...
For those who were following my attempted buy of MCD. The next day with my asking price at $197.99, I picked it up for $197.58, the opening price. I didn't look on Fidelity till about 10am Pacific time. I then optioned a covered call for the Jan 21 $210. $7.65...I received $764.29 after 71 cents in fees. Also a 2.5% dividend isn't bad while I wait. My thoughts on MCD is if we go into a recession, many people will cut down on their meal and drink purchases. They may forgo Starbucks for $1.00 coffee at McDonalds...Since they are there, they'll pick up a meal also. Other fast food chains may go under. Also, MCD has the power to buy back some of their stock. With labor costs rising, I feel they have the clout to automate quickly on some of their manual labor processes (burger making). Hold and wait...
If you are legging into a covered call position, you would might want to consider just selling the put. So here if you just sold the Jan 21 210 put, it would be synthetically the same as you buying the stock and selling the call and you wouldn't have any risk legging into the position.
Yeah, I understand...I'm always more comfortable with covered calls. I'm 64+...Old dogs/new tricks. Have heart issues. Don't want a lot of unclosed positions to hand to my wife. And it something happened to her, a bank trust department would handle the accounts. They may not see the puts for months...May not catch it. Covered calls either expire or get called away. My leaps tend to be 13-14 months at the max. Method to my madness...
Agree with you on MCD. Reasonable P/E, good dividend. It was one of the few stocks that held up very well and might have even gained a bit in 2008. The Jan 210 put is trading for 19.20 mid and the 210 call is trading for 9.40 mid. With the covered call, you'll collect 2.5% worth of dividend, but you'll tie up about $20k worth of capital that should earn some small amount of interest. If you have extra funds that you were not planning on doing anything with anyway, the covered call will yield more than the naked put.
No, not true, otherwise an arb would exist. With a covered call you would profit more if the dividend was unexpectedly raised, but would lose if it were lowered. Also in the case of a hard to borrow stock (not MCD) selling a put would favorable.
The covered call strategy will yield more assuming that the covered call seller has idle cash that would otherwise just sit in his account and earn around 1.05% annual (the current IBKR rate -- will vary by broker, other option is to buy treasuries or invest in a ST treasury ETF for a higher rate of return). The difference is in the borrowing costs. Using the quotes from last night, selling the 210 put will collect the $19.2 premium. Selling the 210 call for 9.40 and buying shares at 200 means that if MCD closes somewhere above 210 by expiration, the put seller makes $19.2 / share (the premium) and the call seller makes $9.40 / sh (call premium) + $10 / sh worth of appreciation = $19.40 / share. However, the call seller also collects 2.5% in dividends over the course of the year while the put seller does not collect that. The put seller instead gets a smaller return on the $20k worth of cash held for a year that the call seller won't get. Short term treasuries won't pay 2.5% so call seller comes out ahead. Btw, I just check the MCD quotes again during live market and MCD is right at 200, 210 put is 9.10 mid and 210 call is about 19.80 mid. Looks like covered call still has the advantage.
I know it's minor...The float on the float of the $764.29 over 12 months (compounding ...1.05%)...About 8 bucks. Also you have the float on their dividends...It adds up.