STARTRADER is expanding its around-the-clock trading lineup with 45 new stock and ETF contracts for difference (CFDs), giving eligible clients access to instruments across Chinese AI, AI infrastructure, technology, digital assets, energy and other market themes. The expansion reflects a broader shift toward extended-hours access as retail and professional traders increasingly follow global markets beyond traditional exchange sessions.
The trading day is becoming less tied to the opening bell.
STARTRADER has launched 45 new 24/7 stock and ETF CFDs, available from Monday through Sunday, 00:00–24:00 in the platform’s GMT+3 operating time. The expansion broadens the broker’s existing around-the-clock offering across seven categories, including Chinese artificial intelligence, AI infrastructure, technology, crypto and digital assets, energy, other equities and ETFs.
The announcement is notable less for any single instrument than for the breadth of the expansion.
Among the additions are Zhipu and MiniMax, two Chinese AI companies listed in Hong Kong in January 2026. Zhipu develops large language models for enterprise and developer applications, while MiniMax is focused on artificial general intelligence and has attracted backing from major technology and investment names including Alibaba, Tencent and Hillhouse Capital.
By adding exposure to these companies through CFDs, STARTRADER is effectively bringing one of the newest and more closely watched areas of China’s AI market into its extended-hours trading environment.
That matters because the underlying equities do not themselves trade continuously.
24/7 CFD access is not the same as 24/7 stock trading
The distinction is important for investors.
A CFD is a derivative contract that allows traders to speculate on the price movement of an underlying asset without owning the asset itself. When a broker offers a stock CFD around the clock, it is not extending the operating hours of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or another underlying exchange.
Instead, the broker is providing a trading venue and pricing mechanism for the derivative outside the underlying market’s conventional session.
That can provide flexibility when geopolitical events, corporate announcements, economic data or developments in another region move expectations before the underlying exchange reopens.
It also introduces risks.
STARTRADER itself warns that out-of-hours trading can involve wider spreads, reduced liquidity and price gaps, particularly when the underlying market is closed.
For traders, that means the ability to trade continuously does not necessarily translate into better execution.
A position entered overnight can encounter a different liquidity environment from the one available during the underlying exchange’s normal session. Pricing may also reflect market-maker risk, futures markets, related securities and broader sentiment rather than continuous trading in the underlying stock.
Chinese AI becomes part of the global trading narrative
The inclusion of Zhipu and MiniMax reflects the increasingly international nature of the AI investment theme.
For much of the generative-AI boom, investor attention centered on U.S. companies and infrastructure providers. NVIDIA, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and other large technology companies became major proxies for the expansion of AI computing and cloud infrastructure.
China has developed a parallel AI ecosystem involving model developers, semiconductor companies, cloud providers and consumer applications.
Zhipu is part of that emerging model ecosystem, while MiniMax represents another Chinese AI company attracting international investor attention. Their Hong Kong listings provide a more direct public-market route for investors following China’s AI sector.
Adding those instruments to a 24/7 CFD lineup gives traders another way to express views around the global AI theme.
The broader list also spans AI infrastructure, technology, energy and crypto-related assets, suggesting that STARTRADER is treating market themes as increasingly interconnected rather than limiting extended-hours access to conventional U.S. technology stocks.
That is particularly relevant because AI’s growth is creating demand across multiple parts of the economy.
AI infrastructure requires computing capacity, semiconductor manufacturing and data centers. Data centers require substantial electricity, creating links to energy markets. Crypto and digital assets remain another highly active market outside traditional equity trading hours.
A broader instrument set allows traders to move between those themes as market conditions change.
The appeal—and limits—of trading around the clock
For brokers, 24/7 products can address a basic change in market behavior: information no longer arrives only during local exchange hours.
News originating in Asia can move European and U.S. markets before those exchanges open. Cryptocurrency markets operate continuously. Global macroeconomic events can occur while major equity markets are closed.
The challenge is providing useful access without obscuring the liquidity and pricing risks that accompany extended-hours trading.
That makes product design important.
A 24/7 CFD offering needs pricing mechanisms, risk controls and margin requirements that account for periods when the underlying market is inactive. Brokers also need to communicate clearly that continuous availability does not eliminate market gaps or liquidity constraints.
STARTRADER says its product expansion is intended to follow where eligible clients are directing their attention, particularly as market narratives emerge across different regions and sectors.
The strategy puts the company within a wider competitive trend among online trading platforms: expanding the range of markets available outside conventional exchange hours.
Competition is shifting from instruments to access
Online brokers increasingly compete not just over commissions or spreads, but over market access, product breadth, trading hours and platform functionality.
Platforms from companies such as Interactive Brokers and IG offer extensive multi-asset access, while other brokers have expanded overnight or extended-hours products across equities, indices, forex and derivatives.
CFDs provide a particularly flexible vehicle because brokers can offer exposure to markets without requiring clients to directly hold the underlying securities.
But that flexibility comes with leverage and counterparty considerations that distinguish CFDs from conventional share ownership.
For enterprise and sophisticated trading teams, the important question is therefore not simply whether an instrument is available 24/7. It is how the broker sources pricing, manages liquidity, calculates margin and handles corporate actions or market closures.
For individual traders, the basic consideration is simpler: continuous access can increase flexibility, but it can also increase the opportunity to trade in less favorable market conditions.
What the expansion signals
STARTRADER’s 45-instrument launch illustrates where online trading platforms are heading as markets become more global and thematic.
AI companies listed in Asia can become relevant to traders in Europe or the Middle East. Energy markets can move in response to technology infrastructure trends. Crypto markets remain active when equity exchanges are closed.
The trading platform is increasingly becoming the interface connecting those markets.
But 24/7 access should not be confused with continuous liquidity. The underlying assets still have their own market structures, and the quality of execution can change substantially outside regular sessions.
For STARTRADER, the expansion is therefore both a product-breadth move and a bet on the growing appetite for always-on access to global market themes.
For traders, it creates more opportunities—but also more responsibility to understand how the derivative is priced when the underlying market is closed.
Market Landscape
The expansion of 24/7 trading products reflects the fragmentation of global market activity.
Cryptocurrency already trades continuously, while traditional equity exchanges remain constrained by local trading sessions. Brokers have increasingly bridged that gap through overnight trading, derivatives and extended-hours products.
CFDs are particularly suited to this model because they allow brokers to provide exposure to underlying assets without requiring continuous trading in the underlying exchange.
The market is competitive. Interactive Brokers, IG and other multi-asset platforms have expanded access to extended-hours or alternative trading sessions, while crypto-native platforms operate continuously by design.
AI is adding another dimension.
The rise of companies such as NVIDIA, Microsoft and emerging Chinese AI developers means technology-related market narratives increasingly cross geographic boundaries. A company can generate material news in one time zone while investors elsewhere are still trading.
That creates demand for flexible access—but also raises questions around pricing quality, liquidity, spreads, leverage and investor protection.
For brokers, the next competitive frontier may be less about simply adding instruments and more about delivering reliable execution and transparent risk management across a fragmented, always-on market environment.
Top Insights
- STARTRADER added 45 stock and ETF CFDs with 24/7 availability, expanding access across Chinese AI, technology, energy, crypto and other global market themes.
- Zhipu and MiniMax bring newly listed Chinese AI companies into STARTRADER’s extended-hours lineup, reflecting growing investor interest in China’s emerging AI ecosystem.
- 24/7 CFD availability does not mean underlying stocks trade continuously, making liquidity, spreads, pricing gaps and execution conditions important considerations for traders.
- The expansion highlights increasing competition among online brokers around market access, product breadth and extended trading rather than traditional trading hours alone.
- Global AI, energy and digital-asset narratives increasingly overlap, creating demand for platforms that provide access across sectors and geographic markets.
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