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Market Basics

Market Sessions

Pre-market (4-9:30 AM), Regular (9:30-4 PM), After-hours (4-8 PM ET).

Regular hours have the most liquidity and tightest spreads. Pre-market and after-hours have wider spreads and lower volume. Most institutional activity happens in the first and last 30 minutes of regular hours. The opening range (9:30-10:00) often sets the direction for the day.

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More in Market Basics
Candlestick
A bar showing open, high, low, close for a time period.
OHLCV
Open, High, Low, Close, Volume — the 5 data points per candle.
Timeframe
The duration each candlestick represents.
Volume
The number of shares traded in a given period.
Relative Volume (RVOL)
Today's volume compared to the 20-day average.
Spread
The difference between the bid (buy) and ask (sell) price.