Supported Market Hours

How HawkAlpha handles different market hours, technical jargon, and notes on market order placement by both bot and user.

Normal market hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday, excluding market holidays. Extended market hours are from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET and from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday, excluding market holidays.

HawkAlpha allows users to trade during both normal and extended market hours. All orders are placed as limit orders with the variable extended hours set as true.

HawkAlpha is developed to place users bot orders during extended hours.

Users should be aware that they will not be able to close their bot positions via "Close Position" option during extended hours as this will attempt to place a market order.

Market orders only execute during regular market hours. If this option is selected during extended hours, the bot pauses remaining orders and places a market order that queues to execute when the market opens.

Trading during extended hours involves some risks that are different from trading during normal market hours. Some of these risks include the following:

• Lack of liquidity: Extended hours have less trading volume than regular hours, which could make it difficult to execute trades. Some stocks may not trade at all during extended hours. Lower liquidity can also result in wider bid-ask spreads and greater price fluctuations.

• Higher volatility: Extended hours are more susceptible to market-moving news and events that occur when the regular market is closed. This can create significant price gaps and unpredictable price movements. Higher volatility can also increase the risk of slippage and market impact.

• Uncertain prices: The prices of securities traded in extended hours may not reflect the prices either at the end of regular hours or at the opening of the next regular trading session. This can create discrepancies between a users expected trade price and their actual trade price. Also, some brokers may use different sources of market data for extended hours, which could affect the accuracy and reliability of the prices the user sees.

• Competition with professional traders: Extended hours attract more sophisticated and institutional traders who have access to more resources and information than individual investors. These traders may have an advantage over non-professional users in terms of speed, technology, and market insight. They may also use strategies that exploit the lower liquidity and higher volatility of extended hours.

• Different rules and regulations: Extended hours may be subject to different rules and regulations than regular hours. For example, some types of orders, such as market orders, may not be available or may be handled differently during extended hours. Some brokers may also impose additional fees or margin requirements for extended hours trading (Alpaca does not impose additional fees for extended hours).