Robinhood to offer 24-hour weekend stock trading

Robinhood announced on Tuesday that it will extend its trading hours to allow users to trade select US stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) around the clock on weekends. This move marks an expansion of the online brokerage's efforts to provide 24-hour access, following its introduction of weekday round-the-clock trading in 2023.

Abhishek Fatehpuria, vice president of product management at Robinhood, stated that the company's focus this year is on equipping active traders with tools typically reserved for institutional investors. After launching its 24-hour weekday trading feature, Robinhood observed that approximately 25% of its total daily trading volume on busy days originated from outside traditional market hours.

The introduction of weekend trading aims to offer investors greater flexibility to react to breaking news and market events, as highlighted by SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who noted the potential for missed opportunities or increased risk when markets are closed. The new feature is being launched in partnership with Bruce ATS, an infrastructure firm specializing in overnight trading, and is pending regulatory review.

In addition to extended trading hours, Robinhood is expanding its offerings to include perpetual futures trading for eligible US customers and the ability to create AI agents for automated trade execution. The company is also rolling out a social platform, designed to resemble the WallStreetBets community, to all eligible US customers after a successful beta launch.