Shares

Share trading in the underlying market involves buying and selling company shares, with the aim of making a profit. Shares represent a portion of ownership of a public company. With us, you can trade CFDs on shares, without actually owning the underlying share. Learn more about share trading.

One of the features of CFD trading is that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of your position to open a trade, known as trading on leverage. Remember, trading on leverage can also amplify losses, so it's important to manage your risk.

When you trade CFDs on shares on our platform, you don't buy or sell the underlying share. Instead, you're taking a position on whether you think the company's share price will go up or down.

With CFD trading, you buy or sell a number of units for a particular instrument. For every point or unit that the price moves in your favour, you gain multiples of your stake, and vice versa.

You should make share trading decisions based on your overall trading goals and strategies. For example, some traders prefer to invest in riskier penny stocks, whereas others may prefer to invest in potentially more stable and reliable blue-chip stocks. These can also vary depending on the sector the company trades in.

Beginners interested in trading share CFDs should undertake research and aim to have a solid understanding of the market, including the relevant industry and specific company history and outlook.

Trading share CFDs on our platform works similarly to physically buying and selling shares, except that you don’t take ownership of the asset. When trading derivative products, you open a position based on whether you think a price will rise or fall, and subsequently make a profit or loss based on the price when you close the trade compared with your opening price. Learn more about our CFD trading products.

If you believe a stock is undervalued, you could choose to buy in the hope that its value will rise, and if you think a stock is overvalued, you might decide to go short (sell) at a higher price, and hope that its value drops. Learn how to short a stock.

You can make money from trading CFDs on shares, if you have sufficient knowledge of the market and make use of appropriate risk-management tools. Remember that when trading with leverage, it increases your exposure to the markets and magnifies your profits and losses, as your position is based on the full value of the trade.

You can trade CFDs commission-free on over 80 US shares, including the 'magnificent seven' of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla, in the pre-market session from 4 AM EST right through to the close of the post-market session at 8 PM EST Monday to Thursday, and from 4 AM to 5 PM EST on Friday.

The core or main US session trading hours, when the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ are open, is 9:30am to 4pm (Eastern time).

You can trade CFDs commission-free on the following 87 US shares in pre-market trading, from 4 AM EST right through to the close of the post-market session at 8 PM EST Monday to Thursday, and from 4 AM to 5 PM EST on Friday. This includes the 'magnificent seven' US stocks of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.

Trading during extended hours (which are from 4 AM - 8 PM, Monday to Thursday, and 4 AM to 5 PM on Friday) allows you to speculate on selected US shares ahead of the underlying market open at 9:30 AM, and after market close at 4 PM.

This allows you to manage your positions and your risk with more flexibility, as you can react earlier to earnings reports, which are usually released either before or after the core underlying market hours of 9:30 AM - 4 PM. Similarly, you're also able to react to breaking market news or global events which may impact these US shares.

Yes, there is a higher risk when you trade outside of the core trading session hours (when the underlying exchange is closed). There is likely to be a greater level of price volatility, due to lower trading volumes. This is because there are fewer participants than during normal market hours, resulting in less liquidity, which means that markets are more volatile as a result.

These market conditions mean that prices are likely to fluctuate more rapidly than usual, and some trades could be more difficult to execute, owing to the lower trading volumes. Our spreads may also be wider compared with the main trading session.

Our order types and execution function as normal during extended-hours trading, although we lower trading and position limits compared with the main trading session. This helps us to manage risk during periods of lower liquidity in the market. Account liquidations also function as normal, so it’s important to ensure that your account is properly funded, and that you allow enough time to deposit funds, if required.

The liquidation process operates in the same way as during the core market hours, ensuring a seamless trading experience. While liquidity levels during extended hours may vary, our systems are designed to manage this effectively, aiming to close positions at the best available price, in line with our Order Execution Policy. In this policy, you can learn more about liquidations and how they work.

Our spreads may vary during extended-hours trading (4 AM - 8 PM, Monday to Thursday, and 4 AM to 5 PM on Friday), as there is less liquidity in the market due to fewer market participants, compared with the main trading session 9:30 AM - 4 PM EST.

Our spreads reflect the underlying market conditions. This is typical in pre-market trading across global markets. This means that you may have a higher spread cost if you trade during extended hours. You can view the current spread in the platform, directly on the order ticket.

No, there are no additional trading costs or fees, as our costs remain the same as during regular market hours. However, spreads may be wider compared with the main market session hours of 9:30am-4pm (Eastern time). This is because there are generally fewer participants in the market compared with the core market hours, and this results in less liquidity, which in turn means that markets are more likely to be volatile.

During extended trading hours, our share instruments are priced from the various available exchanges. Prices may differ slightly compared with trading during the core session of 9:30am-4pm (Eastern time), as a result of varying levels of market activity.

Yes, our full range of order types are supported during extended-hours trading, including market and limit orders. Learn more about our order types

Lower trading limits, where we reduce the maximum order size available, help to mitigate the higher risks associated with reduced liquidity during extended-hours trading. This helps to ensure a stable and secure trading environment for all our customers.