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What You Need to Know About Trading SPX Options After Close
The regular trading hours for SPX options are from 9:30 AM to 4:15 PM Eastern Time (ET). But, like some other index and stock options, traders can trade SPX for nearly 24 hours from Monday through Friday. This allows for several advantages while also introducing different risks to your position, which requires you to take the additional considerations and make the necessary additions or changes to your strategy.
Can You Trade SPX Options After Closing?
You can trade SPX options after its regular trading hours (RTH), which are from 9:30 AM to 4:15 PM ET. The first session after RTH is the curb hours, which start at 4:15 PM and end at 5:00 PM ET. The second session outside RTH is global trading hours (GTH), which start at 8:15 PM CST and end at 9:15 AM ET of the next day.
Start | End | |
|---|---|---|
Start of Order Acceptance for Regular Trading Hours | 8:30 AM ET | – |
Regular Trading Hours | 9:30 AM ET | 4:15 PM ET |
Curb Trading (All-electronic trading) | 4:15 PM ET | 5:00 PM ET |
Start of Order Acceptance for Global Trading Hours | 8:00 PM ET | – |
Global Trading Hours | 8:15 PM ET | 9:15 AM ET |
However, although the times above are the hours set by Cboe Options Exchange, not every broker offers a full after-hours session for trading SPX options trading. Keep this in mind when choosing a broker or when planning to trade SPX outside its regular trading hours. Are you new to trading? No worries! All American Group simplifies option trading strategies for beginners, making it accessible and stress-free.
Benefits of Trading SPX Options After RTH Closes
Makes it Convenient to Trade Across Several Time Zones
Curb and global trading hours last for more than 12 hours. If you add the regular trading hours to this, SPX options can be traded for nearly 24 hours each day. This allows traders across almost all time zones to trade SPX options and capitalize on the opportunities it offers at their convenience.
Allows You to Manage Risk Around the Clock
Having the capability to trade SPX options after their regular hours allows you to use it for managing risk around the clock. You can respond to market-moving events and news that occur outside of regular trading hours that affect the U.S. market or global equities. And you can use it as a hedge for your positions in futures that overlap with global trading hours.
Allows You to Take Advantage of Major News Events
Some market-moving events occur outside of regular trading hours. Traders have the opportunity to respond to these before the NYSE opens. As a result, they are in a better position to take advantage of potential upward or downward trends in the S&P 500 Index.
More Investors in the Market
Global trading hours make it easier for traders to participate in the SPX options market. This increases the number of investors and traders, which leads to increased liquidity due to more trading activity. High trading activity in the market makes it easier to enter and exit positions.
Allows You to Take Advantage of Different Price Movements
The S&P 500 Index changes value outside of regular trading hours due to pre-market and after-hours trading of stocks, which takes place at 4 AM to 9:30 AM ET and 4 PM to 8 PM ET, respectively. Market movements at these times are more volatile, so different trends from regular trading hours are not uncommon. SPX options’ global trading hours allow you to capitalize on these market movements.
Risks of Trading SPX Options After RTH Closes
Increased Price Volatility
Stock prices can become more volatile when news comes out after regular trading hours. This can lead to your trade being on the wrong side of the trend and to you losing money if you do not cover your position. It can also lead to you missing out on profits if you fail to take into account the bigger price changes caused by increased price volatility.
Changes in Liquidity
There are fewer participants and smaller trading volumes after hours, which leads to decreased liquidity during global trading hours. This leads to wider bid-ask spreads and a more difficult time entering or exiting positions.
Changes in Market Sentiment Overnight
You can take advantage of news breaking out immediately after the markets close with a curb or global trading hours. But there’s a risk that the market may not react in the way you expect when it opens. It could be a lukewarm reaction that does not provide as much profit as you expect, or a completely opposite one where you incur losses.
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