Nearly all
price gains in major technology stocks on Wall Street have occurred outside
regular trading hours over the past year, according to new market data released
today (Monday). It prompted CFD broker Pepperstone to more than triple its
after-hours trading offerings to over 100 U.S. stocks.

Tech Giants Made Nearly
All Gains After Hours, New Data Shows

Analysis of
trading patterns shows that Tesla recorded 97% of its price appreciation during
after-hours trading since March 2024, while Alphabet saw 91% of its gains
outside regular market hours. Nvidia, currently the market’s third-most
valuable company, generated 82% of its returns when traditional exchanges were
closed.

These statistics
emerge as institutional investors and algorithmic trading systems increasingly
react to market-moving events such as earnings releases and global developments
during overnight hours, leaving traditional day traders potentially missing the
market’s biggest moves.

“The
data trends we’ve observed suggest that, for traders whose strategy holds edge
in periods of trend and heightened movement, it’s the overnight session that
has generated the best returns for the NAS100 and many of the marquee US equity
plays,” said Chris Weston, Head of Research at Pepperstone.

Finance
Magnates wrote
about this a year ago when Robinhood shared statistics showing that $10
billion in volume was traded after hours.

The
findings highlight a fundamental shift in global market dynamics, where Asian
trading hours and pre-market responses to earnings releases can drive
significant price movements before U.S. exchanges open. This trend has
accelerated with the rise of 24-hour cryptocurrency markets and increased
retail trading participation across time zones.

Pepperstone Expands
24-Hour Stock CFDs as After-Hours Trading Surges

In response
to these patterns, trading platforms are racing to provide round-the-clock
access. Pepperstone is one of them, expanding its 24-hour trading service to
include an additional 79 US share CFDs, bringing its total offering to more
than 100 continuously traded instruments.

The
expansion follows the broker’s initial
launch of 24-hour US share CFD trading in March 2024. The new offering
encompasses technology companies such as ASML and Palantir, transportation
service provider Uber, entertainment company Netflix, and financial services
firms Mastercard and Visa.

This
development enables traders to respond to market-moving events such as earnings
announcements and economic data releases that occur outside standard trading
hours.

“Aside from
the complete ability to react at a time of the trader’s choosing, this relative
performance is perhaps another reason why 24-hour US equity pricing may be the
default position for equity traders in the future. One to watch with Nvidia’s
earnings report coming up,” added Weston.

Pepperstone
is not the only one that has expanded its clients’ access to round-the-clock
trading. A similar move was made this month by Charles
Schwab and Firstrade, although the latter offers 20/5
trading.

Overnight Trading Drives
US Equity Gains

Pepperstone
examined price movements for US 24-hour share CFDs since March 2024, when
the company introduced the offering. The analysis divided the trading day into
two key periods: US cash equity trade (09:30 to 16:00 EST) and the ‘overnight’
session (16:01 to 09:29 EST). The team assessed cumulative percentage changes
in various assets, including the NAS100 index and several prominent individual
stocks.

The study
also investigated performance within the first hour after the US stock market
closed, a period known for heightened activity due to corporate earnings
releases and other key developments.

Key Findings: NAS100 Index
Gains from Overnight Trading

Since March
2024, the NAS100 index has registered a 20.1% total gain. However, a detailed
breakdown of performance reveals a striking contrast:

• If a trader
  had engaged in intraday trading only—buying at market open and selling at
  close—they would have recorded a cumulative 1% loss.
• In
  contrast, executing trades in the ‘overnight’ session—buying after the US close
  and selling just before the next market open—would have resulted in a
  cumulative 21.1% gain.

This
discrepancy suggests that market-moving events and momentum are favoring
extended-hour sessions, a trend that also holds for individual equities.

Applying
the same methodology to select high-profile stocks, the analysis showed that
overnight trading accounted for the majority of gains in some of the most
actively traded US equities.

These
results indicate that traders focusing only on regular market hours might be
missing significant profit opportunities.

One
contributing factor to overnight outperformance is the release of earnings
reports, which often occur shortly after market close. The analysis highlighted
that in the past eight quarterly earnings reports, major stocks experienced
significant one-day price movements:

• Nvidia: 9.2%
• Microsoft: 4%
• Meta: 7.9%
• Amazon: 6%
• Alphabet: 6%
• Tesla: 11.3%

While
earnings-driven moves play a role, the data suggests that overnight trading
extends beyond just post-earnings volatility. For traders with strategies
favoring trending markets and higher volatility, extended-hour trading provides
additional opportunities to capture meaningful price shifts.