Perps: how to catch weekend price moves

Markets don't stop moving just because exchanges are closed. Here's how perpetual CFDs can help you stay active and capture opportunities around the clock. 

On Monday 10 August, SpaceX opened 1.4% higher than it had closed the previous Friday. The move had been building since Sunday, when Citi raised its 2026 and 2027 forecasts for the aerospace manufacturer and reaffirmed a longer-term valuation above US$900 per share.

Investors in Nasdaq-listed stocks couldn’t act on that information until the market reopened on Monday morning, when the news was quickly reflected in prices through a significant gap higher. 

Traders with access to a SpaceX perpetual CFD, which is available 24/7 — including weekends and holidays. 

So, how do perpetual CFDs actually work, and where might they fit into your trading strategy?  

CFDs vs perpetual CFDs: a quick primer 

A CFD, or contract for difference, enables you to speculate on whether a market's price will rise or fall. You can go long or short without owning the underlying asset, using leverage to put down only a fraction of the position's full value. This magnifies both potential profits and losses, and it’s worth bearing in mind that losses can happen quickly.  

Perpetual CFDs work the same way as regular CFDs. The difference is what they track: not a market with fixed hours and, often, an expiry date, but a perpetual futures market built to run continuously, with no expiry at all. Like regular CFDs, it is important to note that perpetual CFDs use leverage, which can magnify both potential profits and losses. This means even relatively small price movements can have a significant impact on your position, and losses can occur quickly if the market moves against you. 

Why traders use perpetual CFDs 

Because the underlying perpetual market trades continuously on the exchange, Pepperstone’s Perp CFD can derive pricing from that market around the clock. There’s no settlement date forcing you out and nothing to roll over. You can hold a position for as long as your margin supports it, including through weekends, public holidays and outside standard exchange hours. 

They can also work as a hedge an existing position: a way to manage risk on a position you'd otherwise be holding blind while the underlying market is shut, rather than only a tool for acting on a view.  

Some perpetual markets provide price discovery where no traditional underlying market yet exists, such as for pre-IPO companies. Here, the price is established directly on the perpetual exchange, with buyers and sellers collectively determining value through real-time supply and demand. This creates a live, tradable indication of market expectations for its opening price on listing. 

Funding works differently, too. On many native perpetual venues, funding changes hands every hour or so, moving between long and short positions rather than to the venue itself. Depending on which way the rate’s running, you could be the one paying, or the one receiving. With a perp CFD, funding is set as a single weekly rate in advance, applied as daily entries. This means the cost of holding a position is known upfront rather than changing by the hour.  

Risk treatment differs too. If a trade moves against you, it’s closed through standard CFD margin-call and stop-out rules, not the auto-deleveraging some venues use.  

What to weigh up 

None of these changes the fact that perpetual CFDs are leveraged products, and that comes with real risk.  

Prices can move quickly and sharply, and leverage magnifies losses as well as gains. Funding payments can accumulate the longer a position remains open, although depending on the direction of your position and the prevailing funding rate, you may either pay or receive funding. Because there is no expiry, these funding payments can continue for as long as the position remains open. Pre-IPO perpetual markets may also experience periods of lower liquidity and heightened volatility, particularly as there is no underlying listed market to anchor the price. Instead, pricing is determined by supply and demand between buyers and sellers on the perpetual exchange. 

Stop-loss orders can help manage risk, but they don't guarantee losses will be limited to a specific amount, especially in fast-moving markets. 

The bottom line  

A weekend blackout, a hedge you couldn't otherwise place, a market you couldn't otherwise reach – perpetual CFDs open up more than one way to trade. To find out more about perpetual CFDs, check out the full guide by Pepperstone. 

 SpaceX stock rebounds, closing above $135 IPO price for first time in weeks - CNBC.  

Risk warning: Remember, perpetual CFDs are complex, high-risk leveraged products and aren't suitable for everyone.  
 
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money 

The material provided here has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Whilst it is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research we will not seek to take any advantage before providing it to our clients. 

Pepperstone doesn’t represent that the material provided here is accurate, current or complete, and therefore shouldn’t be relied upon as such. The information, whether from a third party or not, isn’t to be considered as a recommendation; or an offer to buy or sell; or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, financial product or instrument; or to participate in any particular trading strategy. It does not take into account readers’ financial situation or investment objectives. We advise any readers of this content to seek their own advice. Without the approval of Pepperstone, reproduction or redistribution of this information isn’t permitted.