# Night Trading 101: Trading While the Market Sleeps
Ever wondered if you can make moves after the closing bell? You can—through overnight trading, where folks buy and sell outside regular market hours using electronic networks (ECNs).
**How it works:** Instead of hitting traditional exchanges during 9:30 AM-4 PM EST, traders tap into after-hours and pre-market sessions where fewer players participate. Lower volume = wider bid-ask spreads and bigger price swings, but also real opportunities if you're watching global news.
**What can you trade?** Pretty much anything—stocks (esp. after earning

US stock futures holding green this Wednesday morning—Dow +77pts, S&P 500 +18, Nasdaq +107—as traders digest some surprisingly solid economic data ahead of the holiday break.
Jobless claims came in cooler than expected: 216K initial claims vs 225K forecast, with continuing claims steady at 1.96M. The labor market's basically on cruise control at this point—hasn't really moved in months. Could signal the Fed has less reason to keep cutting rates if job stability + consumer spending stay this strong.
Durable goods orders hit expectations at +0.5%, but here's the interesting bit: non-defense ex-a

What if holiday spending tanked 50%? ChatGPT ran the numbers, and the fallout would be brutal:
**GDP impact:** Quarterly growth drops 0.5-1 percentage points, Q4 potentially flatlines or goes negative.
**Retail bloodbath:** 20-30% revenue hit for most retailers, mass store closures (especially department stores, apparel brands, toy shops). E-commerce giants like Amazon would survive better, but still take damage.
**Jobs vanish:** 300k-600k seasonal retail jobs gone, plus warehouse workers and delivery drivers. First-quarter layoffs as companies restructure.
**Domino effect:** Manufacturing ord