It is really frustrating to know that a stock is going to pop only to see that
the pre market buying and selling leaves the average investor sitting on the sideline.
Much of the market is moved by news...
Example: around 2 am pr newswire put out the info on CC and blockbuster.
so i go to my online broker see the close is 3.90 on fri... and the last ask is 3.93
so i place my order @ 3.93 I guess around 3 am....
of course it is not filled as the pre market ran the price up to 5 something
This is unfair.. and sec should look into a system of filling orders in the order that they are placed.
So if joe has put a limit order to sell at 3.93 at close friday and bill puts a limit order to buy at 3.93
one second after close bill order should be first in the line to buy @ 3.93...
(But in the mean time does anyone know or have a list of online brokers who allows pre and after market trading)
thanks in advance

BrwtrPilot

No one necessarily gets to fill an order @ $3.93 in your example.  News like that ususally creates a gap in the stock price and it will jump from $3.93 up to $5+ without any trades being filled along the way.  And if someone does have an open order to sell @ $3.93, it is probably going to get filled by the market maker in anticipation of the jump in stock price.  The average investor will almost never be able to make easy money off of major, news-driven price moves.

TD Ameritrade, but afterhours are very volatile and prices can be inferior.

The other guy was right---the market makers sweep the orders before trading begins. They are responsible for making a market in the stock and that is exactly what they are doing---making a market for the stock where buyers and sellers exist. i.e. No one would be able to buy a stale offer well out of the market and oustide of operational trading hours. This is how the market operates efficiently (or as close to as possible) and not an all out war. This is also why stocks are halted or have delayed openings.

ok who or what is this "market maker"
If the news comes out at 2 am, I am sure the big guys have some kid sitting watching the screen
all night on the news tickers but if I happen to see it first should I not be able to get in if my
fingers are faster that the kid working for the big guys.
Or is the system set so we just are going to be left sitting
brwtrpilot

Anyone here ever asked Zecco if they have plans to eventually add after hours trading?  Im getting killed not being able to trade late afternoon when there is breaking news.  Today is a great example when Google beat estimates.     

To answer bwtrpilot's q about after hours.  You can trade from 8am to 8pm with brokers that have access to the electonic system that does it.  I can do it in my Ameritrade account.   We can't do it in our Zecco acct's.  Its my biggest negative with Zecco.  Im hanging in there hoping hoping the ability will be added later as Zecco (hopefully) gets bigger. 

What is frustrating for me is the timing of the "Big News!"

Why do you annonce this deal at 2am? Both companies knew about it for weeks.

Why is it that so many big news stories are announced right after the market closes or before it opens?

Timing is everything. Especially to the people who just made a killing on CC, GOOG, etc.

I just setup an account at Izone.com.  It is TDAmeritrade's trading service without their phone customer service.  Customer service is done via email.  The trades cost $5 each and you will have the ability to trade in extended market hours.

I think I might get an Ameritrade account ONLY for the pre market and after market trading.  I know how it is when good news comes out on a company and you're sitting there after hours wishing you bought in watching as the price just sits there for 10 minutes before it jumps 30%.

I've never seen the term "market maker" but I believe that it's what I usually refer to as a "match maker." This is an entity which buys and sells pretty much all of the shares which are sold. They buy the shares and then as soon as there's somebody to sell them to finish the transaction. As payment for the service they get to keep the spread.

One of the things which happens during after hours trading is that the volumes are generally quite low and as a result the spread can be huge. The spread gets huge because the maker has to hold onto the securities for longer periods, during which the funds are not available for other things.

Without these makers in the market things would be far less controlled than the turbulent situation  is now.

Guys scottrade lets u do pre/after market trading as well.. what are the hours for TD Ameritrade?

 

Extended Trading Hours

Pre-Market trading is from 8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. ET on selected NASDAQ and Listed securities, Monday through Friday on days when the market is open. After-Hours trading is from 4:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on selected NASDAQ and Listed securities, Monday through Friday on days when the market is open.

On any day, extended hours (Pre-Market and/or After-Hours) trading may be unavailable, delayed, interrupted, or terminated early without any prior notice. When the regular trading session closes at 1:00 p.m. ET, After-Hours trading will generally be offered from 1:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

You may place Buy or Sell orders. Selling short is not available in Extended Hours trading. Extended hours trading is not available on days when the market is closed."

i would love to see extended hours trading zecco please add this feature to zeccotrading

please let us all know how this works out for you at izone.
if is fast and has a great platform i will take a serious look...

has anybody tried sogotrade.com? do they have extended-hours trade? standard account is $3/trade.

so you're telling me if you want to wait for earnings before purchasing a stock and say the ER is 4:00 PM EST.  I love the ER report... now I've got to wait until the following morning to purchase the stock?  That is really troublesome.. this site should definitely get pre/after market trading ASAP.