Many people can not trade during work hours. After all we’re paid to work during that time and not trade on our own account. There are some alternatives.
Taking the long view is an obvious but often overlooked strategy for out of hours traders to follow. To take a topical example BP may look oversold on the basis that the amount that has been lost on its share value is three or four times the highest estimate for any cleanup operation. This is a medium term view, which is independent of any short term price movements.
There may be some gains that are being left on the table, but this can be a far better use of the time.
However there are many people who want to take advantage of the quick gains that contracts for difference and spread betting offer, who realise that they can think ahead of the market when news breaks. For these people the shares that are traded on the London Stock Exchange are not a very good option.
However there are alternatives. Big indices, such as the FTS100 index, are traded out of hours. This means that a bet on either the direction of the economy or the health of big companies in general can be made using either spread betting or contracts for difference.
The other market that is always open is the foreign exchange market. These are massively liquid as they are the biggest markets in the world, being the lifeblood of international trade. So instead of shorting oil companies, short the Norwegian Krone and other petro-currencies.