How to trade US share CFDs and perpetual CFDs around the clock with Pepperstone
AUSTRALIA AND UAE · TRADING HOURS GUIDE
Most big US earnings land while Wall Street is closed. From Dubai that is often just after midnight, from Sydney it is breakfast time. Pepperstone gives you two ways to act when the news breaks rather than hours later. This guide shows how each one works, what it really costs and how to set up your first trade.
In partnership with Pepperstone
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
01 Why trading hours matter more than you think
Pepperstone cites academic research showing that about 95% of US companies release earnings before the market opens or after it closes. Those releases often move a share price more in a few minutes than it moves in a normal week.
If you only trade the regular US session, you see the result of that move at the next open, usually as a gap. For traders in the Gulf and Australia the timing makes this worse. The regular session runs from 5:30 PM to midnight in Dubai during US daylight saving time and from roughly 12:30 AM to 7 AM in Sydney. You are either trading late at night or not at all.
Pepperstone offers two products that address this:
- 24/5 US share CFDs. More than 100 popular US shares that keep trading through the pre-market, post-market and overnight sessions, Monday to Friday.
- Perpetual CFDs. A newer range that trades 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no expiry date.
They solve different problems. The rest of this guide takes them one at a time.
- Use the "-24" share CFDs when you want to trade a specific US company around its news.
- Use perpetuals when weekend access matters.
- Both are leveraged CFDs. You never own the asset, and fast out-of-hours moves can lead to losses larger than you planned.
02 Part 1: 24/5 US share CFDs
What you can trade
Pepperstone's list includes household names such as Apple, Amazon, AMD, Broadcom, Visa, Walmart, ExxonMobil and Goldman Sachs, as well as more volatile stocks like GameStop, Shopify and Nio. The full list sits on Pepperstone's 24-hour trading page and is updated as names are added.
Every share on the list exists twice on the platform:
- AAPL.US trades during the regular US session.
- AAPL.US-24 trades through the pre-market, post-market and overnight sessions as well.
They are separate instruments. A position opened on one does not appear on the other, and each has its own margin requirement.
How to find and trade a -24 share, step by step
What it costs: a worked example
You buy 100 AAPL.US-24 at USD 250.00 at 1:00 AM Dubai time, shortly after Apple reports.
- Position value: USD 25,000.
- Commission: USD 0.02 x 100 shares = USD 2 to open and USD 2 to close.
- Spread: if the quoted spread is USD 0.10, crossing it costs about USD 10.
- Overnight financing: for illustration, about USD 6 for one night on this position.
- Total cost: about USD 20, so the price needs to rise roughly USD 0.20 per share before you break even.
- If the share falls USD 5 instead, the loss is USD 500 plus costs.
Margin requirements stay the same out of hours. Because the -24 and regular instruments are separate, a hedge between them needs full margin on both positions.
Who 24/5 share CFDs suit
- Traders who follow earnings and macro news and want to act on it quickly
- Traders in Asia, the Gulf or Australia who prefer not to trade at night
- Experienced CFD users who already size positions conservatively
- Beginners who are still learning how leverage works
- Long-term investors who want to own shares and receive dividends in full
- Anyone who cannot watch a position when spreads widen overnight
03 Part 2: Perpetual CFDs
How perpetuals work
Perpetual CFDs, often shortened to PERPs, are Pepperstone's newest product range. It spans equity indices (NAS100, SP500), commodities (WTI, Brent, gold) and individual shares including AMD, DRAM, MSTR, GOOG, NVDA, SNDK, TSLA, SKHYNIX, SMSN, SpaceX, CXMT and Unitree. They sit in the same account as your other CFDs, but they are available only on MT5, cTrader and the Pepperstone platform and app. They also behave differently in three ways.
- They trade 24/7. You can open, adjust or close a position on a Saturday afternoon.
- They have no expiry. There are no rollovers or forced closes at an expiry date. You can hold the position as long as your margin supports it.
- The funding rate is published in advance. Pepperstone sets a weekly funding rate and applies it daily as a swap, so you know your holding cost before the day begins. Depending on the market and your direction, it can be a cost or a credit.
How to open a perpetual position
You buy a NAS100 perpetual with a position value of USD 5,000 on Friday evening.
- Suppose the published funding rate works out at 0.03% per day for long positions.
- Cost per day: USD 5,000 x 0.03% = USD 1.50.
- Three days, Friday to Monday: about USD 4.50 in funding, plus the spread.
- Because the rate is known in advance, you can decide before the weekend whether the trade is worth holding.
- Trading a particular US company around its earnings: use the -24 share CFD.
- Staying positioned through the weekend: use the perpetual.
- An existing standard CFD does not convert into a perpetual. They are different contracts.
04 Australia and the UAE: what changes
Australia
Your account is with Pepperstone Group Limited, regulated by ASIC under AFSL 414530. As a retail client you get ASIC's product intervention protections: leverage limits such as 1:30 on major FX and 1:5 on shares, margin close-out at 50% of required margin and negative balance protection.
UAE
Pepperstone is licensed by the UAE Capital Market Authority (CMA) through Pepperstone Financial Services LLC, which introduces clients. Professional clients can be served by Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited, regulated by the DFSA under licence number F004356. Your account agreement tells you which company you deal with, and that company's rules set your leverage and protections. UAE clients can fund in AED through a local bank account and get support in Arabic, English and Hindi.
05 Common mistakes to avoid
- Trading the wrong symbol. Placing an order on AAPL.US at 1 AM Dubai time will not work as you expect. Use AAPL.US-24.
- Ignoring the spread at night. Overnight spreads can be wider than during the regular session. Check before you trade.
- Using full leverage out of hours. Pepperstone itself suggests lower leverage outside the regular session.
- Assuming a stop is a guarantee. Prices can gap past a stop when news hits.
- Forgetting financing. Holding positions for weeks adds a daily cost that can outweigh the spread.
06 FAQ
Can I trade US stocks 24 hours a day with Pepperstone?
Yes, for more than 100 selected US share CFDs, five days a week. Use the symbols with the "-24" suffix, for example AAPL.US-24.
What are Pepperstone's 24-hour trading hours?
The 24/5 share CFDs trade through the pre-market, regular, post-market and overnight sessions from Monday to Friday. The exact hours and any short daily break are listed in the instrument specification on your platform.
Do I own the shares when I trade 24/5 CFDs?
No. A CFD tracks the share price. You do not own the shares, have no voting rights and pay financing on positions held overnight.
Are spreads wider outside regular hours?
Often, yes. Fewer buyers and sellers usually mean wider spreads and sharper moves, which Pepperstone highlights in its own risk notes.
What is a perpetual CFD?
A CFD with no expiry date that trades 24/7. Pepperstone publishes a weekly funding rate in advance and applies it daily as a swap.
Can I trade perpetual CFDs at the weekend?
Yes. That is their main purpose. Liquidity can be lower at weekends, so position sizes deserve extra care.
Which platforms support 24-hour trading?
TradingView, MT5, cTrader and the Pepperstone platform all carry the 24/5 share CFDs.
Can I practise first?
Yes. A free Pepperstone demo lets you find the -24 symbols, check spreads and place practice orders with virtual money.
07 Our take
Pepperstone's 24/5 share CFDs solve a real problem for traders outside the US: you can act on earnings and news at the moment they happen, on the platforms you already use. Perpetuals add genuine weekend access with a funding cost you can see in advance. Both are tools for experienced traders who size carefully and accept that out-of-hours prices can move fast.
About this article: this article was produced in partnership with Pepperstone, which paid MatchMyBroker for it. MatchMyBroker may also earn a commission if you open an account through links on this page. Pepperstone reviewed the article for factual accuracy, and the opinions are our own. This is general information, not personal financial advice. Facts were checked against Pepperstone's official pages in October 2026 and can change.
