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How exactly does a stock price gap overnight?

Economics Asked on October 3, 2021

I read Bob Baerker’s answer.
I’ll exemplify with KODK. The NYSE has

  • Extended Hours: 4:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. ET
  • Opening Session: 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET

Pretend that on July 28 2020, KODK last traded on the NYSE at 7:59 PM for $9. Pretend that on July 29 2020, KODK first traded on the NYSE at 4:01 AM for $15. How did KODK jump overnight by +6? Is the reason merely because the first trade on July 29 2020, a buyer accepted the sale price of $15?

Many thanks to user "Bob Baerker" for this chart!

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3 Answers

A stock price is the price where two entities are willing to transact. The prices are often affected by new information. If a company has a major announcement to make during the day, trading is often halted, and then the price can be radically different after trading resumes, since investors may have revised their valuations.

Answered by Brian Romanchuk on October 3, 2021

The way I always thought of it is that just before the market opens, the exchange matches and executes all "overlapping" orders that accumulated during the weekend. The first price posted after the bell is consequently the new equilibrium, which will differ from the closing equilibrium if supply and demand have shifted while the exchange was closed.

The only person that could properly answer this question though would probably be a software engineer working on the order matching engine that the exchange servers run.

Answered by Steven on October 3, 2021

When there is news, order flow shifts to one side, often creating an order imbalance. Where the stock opens depends on price matching and the opening price will be one that best clears the market.

The KODK news was the worst kept secret. Share price rose nicely for two days, before the announcement.

You stated:

If anyone has the stock chart that includes these hours, please edit this post.

I have access to Time & Sales. What information are you seeking?

enter image description here

Answered by Bob Baerker on October 3, 2021

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