Q1. What is Share Investment?
When you buy a share, you're purchasing a small ownership stake in a company. As a shareholder, you can benefit in two ways:
Capital growth — if the company's value increases, so does the value of your shares
Dividends — some companies pay a portion of their profits to shareholders as cash payments
Most investors buy shares in companies they believe will grow in value over time. If it does, so will its share price, then the shares that the investor owns can be sold on for a profit.
Q2. How does Share Investment work?
Shares are bought and sold on stock exchanges around the world. Most companies list on their local exchange — for example, Australian companies typically list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), while US companies list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or NASDAQ.
Shares can only be traded when the relevant exchange is open. For example, ASX stocks can be traded between 10:00am and 4:00pm AEDT.
Trading with IG Markets is straightforward:
Find the company or ETF you want to invest in through the app
Select the number of shares you'd like to buy, or the dollar amount you'd like to invest
Choose your order type — market order for immediate execution, or limit order to set your price
Confirm your order
Your shares are held securely on your behalf through IG Markets' custodian model.
Q3. Which markets can I trade on IG Markets?
Market | What's Available |
Australia (ASX) | Australia-listed equities and ETFs |
United States (NYSE, NASDAQ, ARCA, AMEX) | US equities and ETFs, with fractional shares available |
United Kingdom (LSE) | UK equities, UK-listed ETFs, and Irish-domiciled ETFs |
Hong Kong (HKEX) | HK equities and ETFs, incl. China A-shares via Stock Connect |
Singapore (SGX) | Singapore-listed equities, ETFs, and REITs |
Japan (TSE) | Japanese equities and Japan-listed ETFs |
Q4. Are fractional shares available?
Fractional shares are available for US and UK markets only. All other markets (Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan) require whole-share orders.
Q5. Can I access live share prices?
US-listed Stocks and ETFs – Free real-time streaming market data on all US-listed stocks and ETFs from CBOE One and IEX. (Non-consolidated).
ASX pricing is displayed on a 20-minute delay by default. Tap BUY or SELL on the deal ticket for live pricing which will refresh with each market tick — after 10 ticks, the quote expires and you'll need to request a new one.
Q6. How do trading sessions differ across global markets?
Australia Exchange (ASX) Sydney time
Opening Single Price Auction: 09:59:00 - 09:59:45*
Regular trading: 10:00 – 16:00
Closing auction: 16:00 - 16:10
United States (NYSE, NASDAQ, ARCA, AMEX)
Pre-market and post-market trading are available using limit orders only.
NYSE, NASDAQ, ARCA, AMEX | US (ET) | AU (AEST) | AU (AEDT) |
Pre-market | 04:00 – 09:30 ET | 18:00 – 23:30 | 20:00 – 01:30 (next day) |
Main Session | 09:30 – 16:00 ET | 23:30 – 06:00 (next day) | 01:30 – 08:00 |
Post-market | 16:00 – 20:00 ET | 06:00 – 09:00 | 08:00 – 09:00 |
Note |
The fractional orders and cash-based orders are not supported during extended hours. Trading outside regular market hours may involve lower liquidity, wider spreads, and faster price movements, which can affect the execution price of your order. |
United Kingdom (LSE)
LSE | UK (BST/GMT) | AU (AEST) | AU (AEDT) |
Pre-market | 07:50 – 08:00 | 16:50 – 17:00 | 18:50 – 19:00 |
Regular trading | 08:00 – 16:30 | 17:00 – 01:30 (next day) | 19:00 – 03:30 (next day) |
Closing auction | 16:30 – 16:35 | 01:30 – 01:35 | 03:30 – 03:35 |
Note |
The UK observes daylight savings (GMT in winter, BST in summer), which affects the equivalent AEST / AEDT. |
Singapore Exchange (SGX)
SGX | Singapore Time | AU (AEST) | AU (AEDT) |
Pre-market | 08:30 – 08:59 | 10:30 – 10:59 | 11:30 – 11:59 |
Morning session | 09:00 – 12:00 | 11:00 – 14:00 | 12:00 – 15:00 |
Mid-day trading break | 12:00 – 13:00 | 14:00 – 15:00 | 15:00 – 16:00 |
Afternoon session | 13:00 – 17:00 | 15:00 – 19:00 | 16:00 – 20:00 |
Pre-Close auction | 17:00 – 17:06 | 19:00 – 19:06 | 20:00 – 20:06 |
Non-cancel period | 17:06 – 17:16 | 19:06 – 19:16 | 20:06 – 20:16 |
Trade-at-close session | 17:16 – 17:20 | 19:16 – 19:20 | 20:16 – 20:20 |
Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX)
HKEX | Hong Kong Time | AU (AEST) | AU (AEDT) |
Pre-market | 09:00 – 09:30 | 11:00 – 11:30 | 12:00 – 12:30 |
Morning session | 09:30 – 12:00 | 11:30 – 14:00 | 12:30 – 15:00 |
Extended morning session | 12:00 – 13:00 | 14:00 – 15:00 | 15:00 – 16:00 |
Afternoon session | 13:00 – 16:00 | 15:00 – 18:00 | 16:00 – 19:00 |
Closing auction | 16:00 – 16:10 | 18:00 – 18:10 | 19:00 – 19:10 |
Japan Exchange (TSE)
TSE | Japan Time | AU (AEST) | AU (AEDT) |
Morning session | 09:00 – 11:30 | 11:00 – 13:30 | 12:00 – 14:30 |
Midday break | 11:30 – 12:30 | 13:30 – 14:30 | 14:30 – 15:30 |
Afternoon session | 12:30 – 15:00 | 14:30 – 17:00 | 15:30 – 18:00 |
Note |
No pre-market or after-hours trading |