After-Hours Trading

After-hours trading refers to the buying and selling of securities outside of the regular trading hours of a stock exchange. In the United States, regular trading hours are 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time, and after-hours trading occurs between 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM ET on electronic communication networks (ECNs). In India, NSE and BSE operate regular trading sessions from 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM IST, with a pre-open session from 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM. There is no formal after-hours equity trading session in India — unlike the US market. However, the NSE Muhurat Trading session held on Diwali evening is a special one-hour after-hours session. Indian investors interested in US stock market movements can monitor after-hours price changes through US ADR prices, SGX Nifty futures (a proxy for Indian market sentiment), and Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures which trade 24 hours and influence the opening direction of Indian markets.