What are time-in-force and trading sessions?

1. Time in force

When placing an order, you can specify how long it remains active in the market. This is known as "time-in-force." The time-in-force options include: Day, Good-Till-Cancelled (GTC), and Good-Till-Date (GTD).

Day

A day order expires at the end of the trading day if not filled.

To short sell a stock, you must select Day as the time-in-force.

Good-Till-Cancelled (GTC)

A GTC order remains active until fully filled or manually cancelled. It expires automatically after 90 calendar days if not filled or cancelled before then.

Good-Till-Date (GTD)

A GTD order remains active until the market closes on a specified date, unless it fails or is fully filled or cancelled earlier.

If the specified date falls on a non-trading day, the order will be cancelled automatically at the market close of the last trading day prior to the specified date.

2. Trading Sessions

Trading sessions are specific time periods during which the market is open for matching orders.

When placing an order, there are four session options: Regular Trading Hours (RTH), RTH+Pre/Post-Mkt, Overnight Trading, and 24 Hour Trading.

Regular Trading Hours

Orders will only be matched during the RTH.

RTH + Pre/Post-Mkt

Orders will be matched during the pre-market, RTH, and post-market sessions. Unfilled orders from pre-market automatically transfer to RTH, and unfilled RTH orders transfer to post-market.

Overnight Trading

Orders will only be matched during the overnight trading session. Unfilled orders are automatically cancelled at the end of this session. Read More.

24 Hour Trading

24-hour trading lets you place orders for matching during RTH plus pre-market, post-market, and overnight trading sessions, meaning that you can buy and sell stocks around the clock. Read More.