Schwab Makes Expanded 24-hour Trading Available to All Clients

Charles Schwab, a leader in investing and trading with $10.10 trillion in total client assets that facilitates approximately six million daily average trades globally, today announced the launch of broad access to an expanded range of securities in the overnight trading session following a series of successful pilots at the end of 2024. Now, all Schwab clients globally can trade an expanded list of securities including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 stocks 24 hours a day, five days a week (24/5), via the thinkorswim® platform suite. 

Ameritrade, which was acquired by Schwab in 2020, pioneered 24/5 trading in 2018 as the first U.S. retail broker-dealer to make it available to traders. Schwab began piloting expanded overnight access with a small group of clients in November 2024 and has gradually expanded the reach in the intervening months in preparation for broad availability. 

James Kostulias, Managing Director and Head of Trading Services at Charles Schwab, said: “We are proud to have been at the forefront of overnight trading several years ago and that we are continuing to evolve and enhance our capabilities and platforms to meet the needs of today’s modern traders.

“Each day, Schwab facilitates about twice the trades of any competitor that shares that figure publicly, and we know that expanding access to overnight trading to our millions of clients is a significant milestone not just for Schwab, but for our industry. In consideration of Schwab’s leadership position and our ‘through clients’ eyes’ strategy, we have worked hard to combine the power of our world-class trading platforms, specialised 24-hour service and support, and tailored education to deliver an overnight trading experience that reflects the unique dynamics and potential risks this offering can present, while empowering clients to trade in the ways that suit them and their lifestyle best.”

Insights from Schwab’s recent 24/5 expansion pilot

During the expanded 24/5 pilot period, which ran from November 2024 through January 2025, a small group of clients were able to trade between the hours of 01:00-09:00 GMT/20:00-04:00 ET. The most active trading hours of the overnight session were the first and last, between 01:00-02:00 GMT/20:00-21:00 ET and 08:00-09:00 GMT/03:00-04:00 ET. 

The stocks Schwab clients most actively bought, sold, or both during the pilot were:

• Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
• NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
• Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
• MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR)
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

Kostulias added: “What we saw during the pilot period was that trading behavior more or less mirrored what we typically see during standard market hours. Activity was the most pronounced at the beginning and end of the overnight session, similar to the behavior we see during market open and close. The top names of the stock most actively engaged with more or less matched up with what we’ve seen in recent months in our Schwab Trading Activity Index™ (STAX) reports, too. It’ll be interesting to see if and how these trends may change or evolve over time, but traders appear to follow the same fundamental principles that define their activities during the standard trading day.”

Schwab clients may access expanded 24/5 trading by selecting the EXTO order type for eligible securities on the thinkorswim® trading platforms. Visit our website to learn more about trading platforms at Schwab.

Richard Flynn, Managing Director at Charles Schwab UK, said: “We believe we’re the first major investment platform to offer UK investors 24-hour access to US markets with a dedicated support network. Our service means investors can call one of our licensed professionals with local knowledge at any time of day to discuss trading strategy, investing strategy, or broader financial planning. UK investors can use our platform to purchase US-listed equities with a $0 commission for online trades with no service fees, and a $0 minimum to open an account. As the platform is dollar-based, investors are also not required to pay currency conversion fees to buy US equities.”