Who is Trading in Pre Market?

Some investors and traders make trades outside of regular market hours, including pre-market trading. This is an advantage for those who need to react quickly to earnings releases and other news that occurs before the market opens.

However, trading in pre market can be risky due to light volume and illiquidity. This article will cover who is trading in pre market and how it impacts price movements.

Market Makers

Market makers are professional traders who are paid to take risk in the markets and provide liquidity for everyone. They do this by posting bid and ask prices for all to see, and then matching buyers with sellers based on those prices. They earn their profits by the difference in those two prices, which is called the spread.

The more liquid an asset is, the smaller that spread will be. However, it is important to remember that even very liquid assets can have a wide spread.

This is because of the underlying volatility and risk inherent in all securities. Moreover, market makers can make money by taking short positions on very volatile stocks, which allows them to profit from their role as liquidity providers during periods of high volatility. This is an important part of what makes our capital markets so vibrant and dynamic. But it can also be very dangerous. This is why many individual investors don’t trade in pre market unless they have a specific reason to do so.

Individual Traders

The pre-market session allows individual traders to buy and sell shares during the short window before the regular trading day begins. This can be beneficial for investors who have a busy schedule and don’t have the ability to trade during regular market hours.

It’s also a good time to react to corporate news that might cause a stock to rise or fall. For example, a company’s earnings report that exceeds or misses expectations can trigger a big rise in share price.

However, it’s important to remember that not everyone is participating in the pre-market trading session. This can lead to less liquidity and a wider difference between the bid and ask prices for a particular stock. This can also make it more difficult for an individual investor to get a fill on their order. The pre-market trading session can be dangerous for new traders who may not fully understand the risks and drawbacks. That’s why it’s recommended that investors only trade in pre-market if they have the necessary experience.

Institutional Traders

Institutional traders are typically mutual funds, hedges funds or large investment firms that have access to the market through special arrangements with brokers or exchanges. These traders are more experienced and may have a specific strategy in mind for trading premarket.

They are likely to pay top dollar for the fastest news feeds and audio squawk services that can provide them with market-moving information and insight. They also have better infrastructure in terms of computer hardware, trading platforms, trade execution and algorithms.

Institutional traders often focus on long-term investment horizons. This can help to stabilize the markets and prevent excessive market volatility. They can also act as a counterbalance to individual investor trading activity in times of market stress or turbulence. This can help to lower overall market volatility and bring greater resilience to the economy in the long run. This can be especially important during economic recessions and other periods of extreme uncertainty. In addition, institutional traders are more likely to be compensated based on performance.

Professional Traders

Individual investors who trade shares during premarket hours are more likely to face greater competition from professional traders with more resources and information than the average investor. The limited volume of trading also causes prices to rise and fall much more quickly than in normal market trading, which can make it difficult for novice traders to predict price trends.

Traders who participate in premarket trading may be able to take advantage of big price changes. For example, if an earnings announcement is expected to be positive and cause a company’s stock price to grow significantly after the market reopens, traders can buy the stock during premarket trading to capture the profits as soon as the trading session opens. However, these traders must consider the additional risks of extended-hours trading such as volatile price movements and illiquidity. This type of trading is not advisable for beginners or investors with low risk tolerance.