All trading activities that take place before the official opening of an exchange/ venue such as a stock market. This represents all trading that occurs before the regular market session on a given trading day. For example, in the US, pre-market trading marks the period between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. EST on a trading day. Typically, pre-market trading is conducted by individual market participants using electronic trading systems.

Not all exchanges provide a window for pre-market trading, as the existence of extended hours trading (EHT) depends a respective market norms and regulations. Orders can be placed between on a previous trading day (8:05 p.m.) and up till opening session next day (9:25 a.m. ET) and will be eligible for execution between 7:00 a.m. and 9:25 a.m. ET.