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Adapt to the New 16-Hour Trading Days

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 9/4/2026 5 min read

Whewwwwwwww!

3-day weekends are always nice for traders to rest and reset.

But there’s a reason I REALLY needed the extra day off this time.

I’d even go so far as to say it couldn’t have happened at a better time.

Because I’m trying to get accustomed to this…

Welcome to 16-Hour Trading Days

We’re seeing all these premarket spikers (sometimes as early as 4:00 a.m ET).

For example, on Friday (Sept. 4), Akanda Corp. (NASDAQ: AKAN) spiked 10% right at 4:00 a.m. ET, before pulling back.

It spiked again around 6:00 a.m. ET.

But those were just teasers, because at 8:00 a.m. ET, it spiked 43% in 9 minutes…

AKAN, 9/4/26, 1-min candles, premarket spiker
AKAN, 9/4/26, 1-min candles, premarket spiker

We see the same thing happening after-hours, too…

For example, Gix Internet Ltd (NASDAQ: GIXI) was a CRAZY spiker on Sept. 2…

GIXI, 9/2/26, after-hours pump, squeeze and crack
GIXI, 9/2/26, after-hours pump, squeeze and crack

WOW! A +242% spike in 10 minutes!

And these kinds of spikes are happening every day.

So, there are a lot of plays. At the same time they are VERY choppy.

If you catch one of these, do NOT hold and hope.

Sell into strength because as you can see from AKAN and GIXI, they come down just as fast.

With so many premarket and after-hours runners, some days it’s tough to keep up.

Feel free to skip a session or not trade for a few hours. Feel free to not trade for a day.

That said, I believe you should try to stay engaged with the market.

So, what should you do instead of trying to trade for 16 hours straight?

Study More

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Based on what I’m seeing, I really think most of you need to study more.

Image created with Google Gemini
Image created with Google Gemini

I see a LOT of people chasing subpar setups.

They don’t know the right setups and they don’t have proper risk-to-reward.

I’ve seen traders get frustrated from doing this and walk away (RIGHT when they’re about to make a breakthrough).

You know, successful trading is not just about being right 100% of the time.

A lot of the lessons you need to learn are counterintuitive.

It’s like they’re obvious once you learn them, but in the beginning they seem very strange.

Yesterday I shared my 28 Lessons From 28 Years of Trading video lesson. If you haven’t watched it yet, do it now.

Pay attention to the part where I say don’t focus on making money as a beginner trader.

There’s a reason why I said it.

What About No Days Off?

I still think that in the beginning you have to study every day.

And you need to trade, or at least watch, every day the market is open.

It’s not rocket science but you MUST immerse yourself as much as possible.

That doesn’t mean you should be chasing terrible setups just to trade.

Focus on finding one setup. All you need is ONE setup that works for you.

Especially with this crazy 16-hour market.

Oh, and get ready, because…

24-Hour Trading Is Coming

That’s right, Nasdaq recently announced that 24-hour trading starts on December 6, 2026.

Aye, aye, aye…

RIP sleep, right?

It’s okay, though, because even though I’m probably not going to get enough sleep…

I’ve been working on something for two years in anticipation of this moment.

Millionaire Moves

For the past two years, I’ve been working on something that lets me find the most explosive moves in one 15-minute window every day.

Now I’m ready to share it with you.

Next week I’m going to reveal what I discovered.

If you’re interested in what I’m doing right now…

Join me on Monday, September 14th at 10AM ET for…

The 15-Minute Millionaire Summit

I am SO excited to FINALLY share this with you. Be sure to reserve your spot now.

Key Takeaway

Remember, you don’t have to trade if you don’t want to.

I like testing. It also feels like I get a little rusty if I don’t trade.

But I’m also very good at cutting losses.

So, if you’re not good at cutting losses, try to avoid overtrading this week.

Cheers,

– Tim Sykes


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Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity.
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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”