Charles Schwab has announced it will begin piloting additional access to the overnight trading session by expanding to include stocks in the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and hundreds of additional exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available for trading 24 hours a day, five days a week (24/5).
“Our goal has always been to offer and expand access to 24/5 trading in a responsible way that takes into account client demand, the evolving dynamics of the overnight trading market, and – importantly – providing clients with the full library of Schwab’s educational content and 24-hour support to help them balance the opportunities and risks, as well as the unique considerations of overnight trading,” James Kostulias, Managing Director and Head of Trading Services at Charles Schwab, said in a statement.
Ameritrade, which was acquired by Schwab in 2020, pioneered 24/5 trading in 2018 when it was the first U.S. retail broker-dealer to make it available to traders.
Since then, clients using the thinkorswim trading platforms at Ameritrade and now Schwab have had access to approximately two dozen ETFs in the overnight trading session. Schwab will begin piloting expanded overnight access with a small group of clients and gradually expand to full client access in 2025.
“More than six years after Ameritrade was the first U.S. retail broker-dealer to launch 24/5 trading on the thinkorswim platforms, we’re proud to see how the overnight market has evolved,” Kostulias said.
Overnight trading is just one way Schwab clients can engage with the markets outside of standard trading hours.
Schwab also offers pre- and post-market extended hours trading sessions across its trading platforms. Futures, including options on futures, and forex trading are available to clients with appropriately approved accounts via thinkorswim.
In addition to expanding overnight trading, Schwab has also recently introduced a range of new trading features and capabilities, including:
Thinkorswim Platform Suite:
- Positions on Charts: Across all thinkorswim platforms (thinkorswim desktop, thinkorswim web, and thinkorswim mobile), clients can add a horizontal line to a chart for any symbol they hold a position in that will show the trade price of their equity position or strike price of their options position.
- Options Chain Gadget: Clients using thinkorswim desktop can now view the option chain and chart at the same time using this Charts feature.
- Index Monitor: Clients using thinkorswim web can monitor indices throughout the day with a rotating chart and quote carousel at the top of the Charts feature.
- Analyst Ratings: On thinkorswim mobile, clients can now view analyst reports and ratings for their positions.
- Money Movement: Clients using thinkorswim mobile can now add funds to their account using the remote check deposit feature.
- Coming Soon: Walk Limit Orders: Clients using all thinkorswim platforms will have the ability to automatically aim to execute at a more favorable price than initially set for single- or multi-leg options trades.
Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile:
- Options Chain: Now easier-to-use and more customizable than ever, the updated options chain on Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile allows clients to more efficiently identify and trade single- and multi-leg options strategies; add, remove and rearrange data points; filter by strike price and expiration date; and set default page display settings.
- Order Status: Clients on Schwab.com can now add, remove and rearrange their order status columns; change the filter, sort and condensed view preferences and establish new default settings; and add new data points including Mark Price, Day Range, and 52 Week Range.
- Streaming Quotes: Clients on Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile no longer need to refresh or toggle between timeframes with indices now updating automatically on Research pages.
- Symbol Snapshot: This new, convenient view offers up essential details and interactive charts on a given security without navigating away from the Schwab.com Research page.
- Closing Orders: Manage your positions more easily with convenient new actions—including Sell All for equities and Close and Roll, meaning the ability to close an existing position and open another in one trade for options—on Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile.
- Coming Soon: Custom Positions Table: Clients on Schwab Mobile will be able to add, remove and rearrange up to 30 columns of quotes, positions and fundamental data points with this new table view on the Positions page.
“We have built a powerful trading experience over a long period of time and are a strong leader in this space thanks to the breadth and depth of our platforms, products and professional support,” Kostulias said.
“Our expansion in overnight trading combined with our steady stream of meaningful platform enhancements demonstrates our overall commitment to keeping our foot on the pedal and continually innovating to meet traders’ rapidly evolving needs. That has always been part of our firm’s DNA,” he added.
