E-Trade joins Schwab, TD Ameritrade in eliminating commissions on trades

E-Trade Financial Corporation on Wednesday said it would eliminate retail commissions for online trades of U.S.-listed stocks, options and exchange-traded funds. The move comes after online brokerage rival Charles Schwab Corp. on Tuesday dropped commissions on U.S. stocks, ETFs and options, a move that was followed by TD Ameritrade . E-Trade said it would also reduce its options contract charge to 65 cents per contract for all traders, while maintaining its active trader pricing at 50 cents per contract. The changes will take effect Oct. 7. The company said it estimated the impact of the commission changes on second-quarter operating results would have been around $75 million. Shares of online brokers have sold off sharply since the Schwab move. E-Trade shares are down 19.4% over the last two sessions, while Ameritrade has fallen 28.2% and Schwab has retreated 12.7% over the same stretch.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.