Help Contents | Back
Learn More About Extended Hours Trading
Introduction - Extended Hours Trading
Risks
Terms and Conditions
Extended Hours Trading Order Requirements
Quotes and Executions
Securities You Can Trade
Top
Introduction - Extended Hours Trading
Extended Hours trading is available through Fidelity's Web site as both a Premarket session and an After Hours session. It will not be available through Fidelity's Automated Service Telephone (FAST®), other online services, or through Fidelity representatives.
Extended hours quotes obtained from Fidelity.com will reflect the prices available in the ECN, linked ECNs, and Nasdaq's SelectNet, when available. Commissions will be the usual Web-based commissions. Once you place a limit order during Fidelity's Premarket or After Hours session through the ECN, the order will be eligible for matching on a first come, first served basis, at the price you specify.
ECN orders for the Premarket session can be placed from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time. ECN orders can only be displayed and executed after 8 a.m. Eastern Time. REDIBook is the primary destination for Premarket orders. From 7:30 to 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, orders are queued at Fidelity. At 8 a.m., Fidelity transmits orders to the ECN and the transmitted orders are queued at REDIBook according to the time received and the specified limit price.
After 8 a.m., Fidelity continues to send orders to the ECN in the order in which Fidelity receives them until 9:15 a.m. unless trading is halted prior to 9:15 a.m.
In the event that REDIBook is unavailable at the regular time for the Premarket session, orders may be queued at Fidelity in the order in which they are received to be submitted to another eligible ECN to which Fidelity is linked.
ECN orders in the After Hours session can be placed from 4 to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Between 4 and 8 p.m., Fidelity transmits orders to the ECN and the transmitted orders are available for immediate display and execution according to the time received and the specified limit price, unless trading is halted prior to 8 p.m.
In the event that an ECN becomes unavailable during the extended hours session, Fidelity may submit orders to another eligible and available ECN to maintain order flow. Thus, your order may be presented in any one of several eligible ECNs.
Top
Risks
Due to the nature of the Extended hours sessions, trading during extended hours through an ECN may pose certain risks which are greater than those present during standard market hours. For example:
1. Liquidity: Liquidity generally refers to the level of trading activity and the volume of securities available to be traded. In general, the greater the liquidity in a security, the greater the chance an order will be executed. There may be a lack of liquidity (buyers and sellers) in the Premarket or After Hours sessions on an ECN which prevents your order from being executed, in whole or in part, or from receiving as favorable a price as you might receive during standard market hours.
2. Price Volatility and Price Spreads: Price volatility generally refers to the speed and size of changes in the price of a security. There may be more volatility in the Extended Hours sessions than in the standard day session, which may prevent your order from being executed, in whole or in part, or from receiving as favorable a price as you might receive during standard market hours. Price spread generally refers to the difference in prices between what you can buy a security for and what you can sell it for. Lower liquidity and higher volatility in Extended Hours sessions may result in wider than normal spreads for a particular security.
3. Definition of the ECN: THE ECN, as used in Fidelity's Extended Hours trading sessions, Web site content and other materials, refers to one or more electronic communications networks (ECNs) to which an order may be submitted for display and execution from Fidelity. These eligible ECNs may include REDIBook, Archipelago, and any other ECN either directly linked with Fidelity or linked to these other ECNs.* ECNs electronically match buyers and sellers to execute limit orders. Depending on the availability of various ECNs to which Fidelity has access, your order may be submitted to one or more of the ECNs with which Fidelity is directly or indirectly linked.
4. Access to Other Markets and Market Information: Not all ECNs are connected or linked in the Extended Hours trading sessions nor offer Extended Hours trading for the same time periods. Therefore, there is a possibility that greater liquidity in a particular security or a more favorable price is available in another ECN.* Access to quotes and trading information in other ECNs may be limited.**
* During a portion of Fidelity's Premarket and After Hours sessions, the ECN will have the opportunity to route orders to other ECNs and market makers for execution via Nasdaq's SelectNet system while SelectNet remains open (currently, from 9:00 a.m. 6:30 p.m.). After Nasdaq's systems close, only those ECNs with links to the ECN will be accessible for order execution.
** Extended hours quotes obtained from Fidelity.com will reflect the prices available in the ECN and linked ECNs unless access to SelectNet is available in the hours noted above. In which case, SelectNet quotes will be available and will incorporate the quotes of the ECN.
Additionally, other participants in the Premarket or After Hours sessions may be placing orders based on news or other market developments outside the standard market hours that may affect the price of securities. Keep in mind that news stories and related announcements, coupled with lower liquidity and higher volatility, may cause an exaggerated and unsustainable effect on the price of a security. You should determine prior to placing an order in either Extended Hours sessions that you have sufficient current information to determine your limit order price.
5. Price Variance from Standard Market Hours: Orders are eligible for execution in the Extended Hours sessions at prices which are generally based on the supply and demand created by other sellers and buyers who participate in the Extended Hours sessions for an ECN. Therefore, execution prices of securities transactions in the ECN system in either the Premarket or After Hours session may not necessarily match the pricing which is present during the standard daytime trading session.
You might pay more, or receive less than you would compared to trades executed during standard market hours. However, you will not receive an execution price that is worse than your established limit for the Extended Hours sessions.
6. Time and Price Priority of Orders: Orders entered into the Premarket and After Hours sessions are generally handled in the order in which they were received at each price level. Therefore, orders transmitted to the ECN by other investors before your order may match an existing order that you were attempting to match, thereby removing that order from the ECN order book.
Similarly, your order may not be first in line to be executed if a matching order comes into the ECN. This may prevent your order from being executed, in whole or in part, or from receiving as favorable a price as you might receive during standard market hours. If you change your order, your change is treated as a cancellation and replacement which may cause it to lose its time priority.
7. Communication Delays: Delays or failure in communications due to a high volume of orders or communications, or other computer system problems, may cause delays in, or prevent access to current information or execution of your order.
Top
Terms and Conditions
Trading through Fidelity's Extended Hours sessions on the ECN is subject to the terms and conditions ("Terms") and policies set forth by Fidelity and subject to change without notice. By using Fidelity's Extended Hours trading facility, you acknowledge your understanding of the risks set forth above and your agreement to the Terms set forth below.
1. Fidelity reserves the right not to accept an order for the ECN at its discretion and will attempt to notify you if your order is not accepted.
2. Fidelity will only accept limit orders for Premarket and After Hours trading through the ECN. You must indicate a specific price at which you are willing to buy or sell the security you are interested in. You may not trade against an order entered by you. In other words, you may not buy securities you offered for sale in the ECN, and vice-versa.
3. For Immediate or Cancel orders placed during the Extended Hours sessions using the ECN, the minimum quantity is 200 shares.
4. An Immediate or Cancel (IOC) order will be presented for matching to any quote residing within the ECN, or any linked ECN, for an immediate period of time, after which time it will be canceled. IOC orders will not be presented outside the ECN or linked ECNs to SelectNet for display and execution.
5. The maximum order size is 5,000 shares.
6. Prices for securities trading in decimals may be entered in increments of one penny.
7. Only certain securities will be eligible for Extended Hours trading through the ECN, so all orders must be for securities traded on the ECN. If a stock normally traded on the ECN closes on a trading halt in its primary market, or trading is later halted by its primary exchange or a regulatory authority, trading of that stock will be suspended on the ECN.
8. ECN orders for the Premarket session can be placed from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time. ECN orders can only be displayed and executed after 8 a.m. Eastern Time. REDIBook is the primary destination for Premarket orders. From 7:30 to 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, orders are queued at Fidelity. At 8 a.m., Fidelity transmits orders to the ECN and the transmitted orders are queued at REDIBook according to the time received and the specified limit price.
After 8 a.m., Fidelity continues to send orders to the ECN in the order in which Fidelity receives them until 9:15 a.m. unless trading is halted prior to 9:15 a.m.
In the event that REDIBook is unavailable at the regular time for the Premarket session, orders may be queued at Fidelity in the order in which they are received to be submitted to another eligible ECN to which Fidelity is linked.
ECN orders in the After Hours session can be placed from 4 to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Between 4 and 8 p.m., Fidelity transmits orders to the ECN and the transmitted orders are available for immediate display and execution according to the time received and the specified limit price, unless trading is halted prior to 8 p.m.
9. In the event that an ECN becomes unavailable during the extended hours session, Fidelity may submit orders to another eligible and available ECN to maintain order flow. Thus, your order may be presented in any one of several eligible ECNs.
10. Orders not filled during Fidelity's Premarket session are automatically cancelled if they are not filled by the end of the session (i.e., 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time, unless trading is halted prior to 9:15 a.m.) during which they were placed. You must re-enter these orders during standard market hours if you still wish to have Fidelity execute the trades.
11. Orders not filled during Fidelity's After Hours session are automatically canceled if they are not filled by the end of the session (i.e., 8 p.m. Eastern Time unless trading is halted prior to 8 p.m.) during which they were placed. You must re-enter these orders during standard market hours if you still wish to have Fidelity execute the trades.
12. Fidelity is not liable for delays in the transmission of orders due to a breakdown or failure of transmission, communication or data processing facilities, or for any other cause beyond our reasonable control.
13. Transactions are subject to the applicable rules and regulations of the self-regulatory organizations and governmental authorities.
14. Transactions are subject to all other agreements applicable to your account(s).
Top
Extended Hours Trade Order Requirements
To place an order during the Extended Hours sessions using the ECN:
- You must have a Fidelity brokerage account.
- You may not trade against an order entered by you. In other words, you may not buy securities that you offered for sale in the ECN, and vice-versa.
- All orders must be day limit or immediate-or-cancel limit orders.
- There is no minimum number of shares.
  For Immediate or Cancel orders placed during the Extended Hours sessions, the minimum quantity for is 200 shares.
- The maximum number of shares for an order is 5,000.
- Orders can only be for eligible securities, please read Securities You Can Trade.
- ECN orders for the Premarket session can be placed from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time. ECN orders can only be displayed and executed after 8 a.m. Eastern Time. REDIBook is the primary destination for Premarket orders. From 7:30 to 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, orders are queued at Fidelity. At 8 a.m., Fidelity transmits orders to the ECN and the transmitted orders are queued at REDIBook according to the time received and the specified limit price.
After 8 a.m., Fidelity continues to send orders to the ECN in the order in which Fidelity receives them until 9:15 a.m. unless trading is halted prior to 9:15 a.m.
In the event that REDIBook is unavailable at the regular time for the Premarket session, orders may be queued at Fidelity in the order in which they are received to be submitted to another eligible ECN to which Fidelity is linked.
ECN orders in the After Hours session can be placed from 4 to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Between 4 and 8 p.m., Fidelity transmits orders to the ECN and the transmitted orders are available for immediate display and execution according to the time received and the specified limit price, unless trading is halted prior to 8 p.m.
- Transactions are subject to the applicable rules and regulations of the self-regulatory organizations and government authorities.
- Transactions are subject to all other agreements applicable to your account(s).
Top
Quotes and Executions
Free, real-time quotes are available to you during the Extended Hours sessions. The quotes are the best bid, best ask, and size from the last trade across a number of ECNs and the ECN in which Fidelity participates and Nasdaq when available. Extended Hours quotes obtained from Fidelity.com will only reflect the prices available in the ECN. For comparison purposes, Fidelity also provides the quote information from the market close from the current or previous business day's trading session.
You pay only for the trades that are executed. Commissions are based upon the standard Web-commission schedule.
Orders submitted during the Extended Hours trading sessions are eligible to be matched at the best available order price, with executions done on a first-come, first-served basis.
Partial executions can occur on the ECN. All Extended Hours orders will expire at the end of the particular session if unfilled. The Premarket trading session ends at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time unless trading is halted prior to 9:15 a.m. The After Hours trading session ends at 8 p.m. Eastern Time unless trading is halted prior to 8 p.m.
For settlement and clearing purposes, trades executed on the ECN during the Extended Hours sessions are processed as if they had been executed during standard market hours.
For example, the trade date would be February 8, 2001 for any trade executed during an Extended Hours session on February 8, 2001. The standard three-day settlement process will apply to all trades executed on the ECN.
Also, refer to About Extended Hours Quotes.
Top
Securities You Can Trade
In the Extended Hours Trading sessions, you can trade all Nasdaq (National Market and SmallCap) and listed securities.
If a stock that normally trades on the ECN closes on a trading halt in its primary market or trading is later halted by its primary exchange or a regulatory authority, trading of that stock will also be suspended on the ECN.
Top
Page Name: Learn More About Extended Hours Trading