Understanding the Basics
1. What Are U.S. Stocks?
U.S. stocks are shares of companies listed and traded on U.S. stock exchanges, such as Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), Microsoft (MSFT), and NVIDIA (NVDA).
In addition to individual stocks, investors can also trade Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), including:
S&P 500 ETFs: SPY, VOO
Nasdaq-100 ETF: QQQ
2. How Do I Start Investing in U.S. Stocks?
Getting started is simple and typically involves the following steps:
Choose a brokerage platform
Open a brokerage account
Fund your account
Select a stock or ETF and place your order
3. What Are U.S. Stock Market Trading Hours?
U.S. stock trading is divided into four sessions:
Regular Trading Hours
Pre-Market Trading
After-Hours Trading
Overnight Trading
Please note that trading hours differ during Daylight Saving Time (DST) and Standard Time.
U.S. market holidays are as follows:
Trading Rules
1. What Is the Minimum Number of Shares I Can Buy?
While whole-share trading starts from one share, BIT also supports fractional share trading, allowing investors to buy less than one whole share of eligible stocks.
2. What Is Fractional Share Trading?
A fractional share order allows you to buy or sell less than one whole share of a stock.
Fractional trading lowers the investment threshold and provides greater flexibility in portfolio allocation.
Please note that fractional share trading is only available during Regular Trading Hours and is not supported during Pre-Market, After-Hours, or Overnight Trading sessions.
3. What Is T+0 (Day Trading)?
Unlike some markets, U.S. stocks can generally be bought and sold on the same trading day, which is commonly referred to as day trading or "T+0."
However, please note: trade settlement follows a settlement cycle (currently T+1).
4. Do U.S. Stocks Have Daily Price Limits?
No.
Unlike certain markets, U.S. stocks do not have fixed daily price limits. A stock's price may theoretically rise or fall significantly within a single trading day.
However, U.S. markets operate under Circuit Breaker mechanisms. If a broad market index or an individual security experiences extreme price movements within a short period, trading may be temporarily halted to help maintain orderly market conditions.
Order Types
When placing your first trade, the two most commonly used order types are:
Market Order
A Market Order is executed immediately at the best available market price.
Advantages
High likelihood of immediate execution
Considerations
The execution price may differ from the price displayed when the order is placed, especially during periods of market volatility.
Limit Order
A Limit Order allows you to specify the maximum price you are willing to pay when buying, or the minimum price you are willing to accept when selling.
Your order will only be executed if the market reaches your specified price or a more favorable price.
Advantages
Greater control over the execution price
Considerations
The order may remain unfilled if the market price does not reach your limit price.
Trading Fees
The fees associated with U.S. stock trading are shown below.
Disclaimer: The features described in this guide are available only to eligible, verified account holders and may be subject to jurisdictional restrictions and applicable laws and regulations.