T+1: Buy Today, Sell Tomorrow
A-shares bought today can only be sold on the next trading day; cash from a sale can be reused the same day but withdrawn only the next trading day.
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Text version · China A-Share Rules, lesson 3: “T+1: Buy Today, Sell Tomorrow”
A-shares bought today can only be sold on the next trading day; cash from a sale can be reused the same day but withdrawn only the next trading day.
Buy today, sell on the next trading day
Ordinary A-shares trade T+1: shares bought today can only be sold on the next trading day. Buy on Friday and the earliest you can sell is Monday.
Sale money: usable today, withdrawable tomorrow
Money from selling shares can buy other stocks the same day, but it can only go back to your bank card after settlement on the next trading day.
Wrong call today? You still can't sell today
T+1 stops you from jumping in and out on the same day, but it also means you can't cut a loss on the day you buy if the price drops. Some ETFs (such as cross-border, bond, gold and money-market ETFs) trade T+0 and can be bought and sold on the same day.
Key takeaways
- Shares bought today can only be sold on the next trading day; with a weekend or holiday in between, you wait even longer.
- After you sell, the money can buy other stocks the same day, but it can only go back to your bank card on the next trading day.
- T+1 means that if you get it wrong on the day you buy, you can't sell to cut the loss that day, so think before you order.
- Some ETFs (such as cross-border, bond, gold and money-market ETFs) can be bought and sold on the same day.
Try it yourself
You can do these exercises in this lesson's interactive simulation:
- Pick Tuesday as the trade day and press ▶: on which day does “Can sell” first appear?
- Change the purchase to Friday, April 3: with the weekend and the Qingming holiday in between, what's the earliest day you can sell?
- Switch to “Sell”: on which day can you withdraw the cash? What can you do with it before then?
Quiz and explanations
- 1. You buy a stock on Friday. When is the earliest you can sell it?
- Answer: Monday (the next trading day).T+1 counts trading days, and weekends aren't trading days, so a Friday purchase can only be sold on Monday.
- 2. You sell shares this morning for 10,000 yuan. What can you do this afternoon?
- Answer: Use the money to buy other stocks.A-share sale proceeds can be used to buy again the same day, but can only be transferred out on the next trading day.
- 3. Which of these can't you do with ordinary A-shares?
- Answer: Buy and sell the same stock today.Ordinary A-shares trade T+1: shares bought today can't be sold today.
Terms in this lesson
- settlement (Settlement): The step after a trade where cash and shares formally change hands; different markets take different numbers of trading days (US stocks T+1, Hong Kong T+2).
- T+1: The first trading day after the trade date. In A-shares, “T+1” means shares bought today can only be sold on the next trading day; in US stocks, “T+1 settlement” means cash and shares change hands on the first trading day after the trade.
- T+0: Shares bought today can be sold the same day. Hong Kong, US, Japanese and Korean stocks all allow it; ordinary A-shares don't, only some ETFs and similar products do.
- trading day (Trading Day): A day the exchange is open for trading; weekends and public holidays don't count. The numbers in T+1 and T+2 are counted in trading days.