eToro has made another move aimed at attracting younger generations of investors. The social trading platform is introducing extended trading hours into its offering. In this way, trading in the most popular US companies will become more flexible, similar to the forex and cryptocurrency markets. Individual investors initially stand to gain an additional three hours of trading, with the chance of extending this further in the future.
eToro Enables Pre-Market Trades
The initial offering covers pre-market trading, giving investors the flexibility to engage with the market at times that are more convenient. The extended trading hours present an opportunity to act on out-of-hours events like earnings reports or significant macroeconomic events.
This feature will be accessed via a separate contract for difference (CFDs) from in-hours investing. Users can find the stocks for extended hours trading under the .EXT ticker for the specific stock. Extended-hours instruments are CFDs, and there will be no cost difference in fee terms between after-hours and regular-hours traded instruments. However, spreads may vary due to fluctuations in trading liquidity.
Ten stocks, including Tesla, Amazon, Apple, Nio, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, Nvidia, GameStop, and Netflix, will be available from the launch, with the promise of post-market functionality soon.
“With US companies releasing results and news outside market hours, there can often be significant price movement before the opening bell. Pre-market trading allows retail investors to get on the front foot by either getting in early or protecting themselves against market gaps via hedging,” Dan Moczulski, the UK Managing Director of eToro, explained.
He added that the new feature is a response to the importance of the US market to many investors and aims to make it accessible at more sociable hours.
This expansion of trading hours has several benefits for eToro users. It offers real-time responses to news events and data and flexibility for trades around individual schedules. In addition, it reduces risk by getting ahead of the main market reactions. Furthermore, this move is expected to inspire more user engagement, as witnessed in the 24/7 crypto markets. This availability makes Bitcoin (BTC) the most popular instrument among eToro customers in the second quarter of 2023.
"This launch is yet another example of eToro providing clients with the tools to meet their investing needs – from beginners to more sophisticated traders. By further opening up markets, more people will now have access to an offering which was previously limited to few," Moczulski concluded.
eToro's move fits into a trend among CFDs brokers who are increasingly eager to offer their users additional hours to trade. Traditionally, this market was available 24/5, but now the offer is extending to weekends, partly due to the popularity of crypto. Young investors want to invest anywhere and at any time, and brokers strive to meet these expectations.
eToro Bets on Sports Sponsorships
eToro is leveraging the surge in interest in football during the Women's World Cup. The broker announced sponsorships with four prominent UK football clubs: Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Everton, and West Ham. These clubs are top competitors in both women's and men's leagues.
Recently, eToro joined forces with the Dutch club, AZ Alkmaar. This brings their current tally of sponsored teams close to 20. In 2020, eToro added a dozen teams to their sponsorship list, all in one go.
Furthermore, eToro, a social trading powerhouse, branches out to other sports. The company marked its first venture into basketball with a sponsorship deal with Spain's Baskonia club.
