Robinhood (HOOD) Adds Four Additional Trading Hours

Online trading platform Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) has announced that it has added four hours to its trading day, which now extends from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Until now, Robinhood offered trading from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, which started 30 minutes before the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) opens and ended two hours after it closes.

"Our customers often tell us they're working or preoccupied during regular market hours, limiting their ability to invest on their own schedule or evaluate and react to important market news," Robinhood indicated in a blog post on March 29, 2022. "Our new extended trading hours for equities will give them more opportunities to manage their portfolio at a convenient time for them, whether that's in the early morning or in the evening," the post added.

Matching the Competition

Key competitors of Robinhood already offered trading from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Among them are The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR), and Fidelity. Interactive Brokers offers select clients extended trading earlier than 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. For U.S. stocks, extended regular trading hours for IBKR Pro accounts begins at 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time and lasts until market open, and it restarts at market close until 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Extended regular trading hours for IBKR Lite accounts begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time and lasts until market open, and it restarts at market close until 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Extended trading in the U.S. equity markets begins as early as 4 a.m. Eastern Time and ends at 8 p.m., and electronic brokerage firms differ in terms of the hours during which they support trading. Eventually, Robinhood and some of its competitors are heading for 24/7 equities trading.

'The Future of Investing Is 24/7'

Indeed, in its blog, Robinhood stated, "We're working towards 24/7 investing." The blog added, "In the future, when not beholden to traditional hours, retail investors will be able to invest more on their own terms and timelines, regardless of time of day or week."

Robinhood observes: "In fact, we've seen a community of Robinhood early birds and night owls who log in exclusively outside of regular market hours. They're juggling a lot, from full-time jobs to school, families and side gigs."

Robinhood's blog also states: "Our mission to democratize finance for all has come a long way since we started with commission-free trading in 2014. Since then, we've introduced new products and programs to expand access to a new generation of investors; crypto in 2018; fractional shares in 2019; automatic investments in 2020; and 24/7 customer support in 2021. Today's launch is just another step on this journey, and we're just getting started."