Nasdaq Seeks Longer Trading Hours as Wall Street Wants 24/7 Trading
During the overnight session, trades executed between 9:00 p.m. and midnight will be recorded as transactions for the following trading day.
Quick overview
- Nasdaq will submit documentation to the SEC on Monday to implement continuous trading, aiming to meet global demand for U.S. equities.
- The exchange plans to extend trading hours from 16 to 23 hours a day, five days a week, with a new structure dividing sessions into daytime and overnight.
- Major banks remain cautious about the move due to concerns over thinner liquidity and higher volatility in the market.
- This initiative follows a trend toward globalization in U.S. markets, which now account for nearly two-thirds of global listed market capitalization.
The stock market operator will submit documentation to the SEC on Monday to implement continuous trading. The move aims to capitalize on global demand for U.S. equities, although major banks remain cautious due to concerns over thinner liquidity and higher volatility.
Nasdaq, one of Wall Street’s main exchanges and home to technology giants such as Nvidia, Apple, and Amazon, will take a key step on Monday in its plan to extend trading to 24 hours a day. The exchange will file the necessary paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch round-the-clock trading, an initiative designed to tap into growing global appetite for U.S. stocks.
Demand for continuous trading has increased significantly in recent years, prompting regulators to ease rules and allow major exchanges to propose operating hours beyond traditional sessions. U.S. equity markets account for nearly two-thirds of global listed market capitalization, while foreign holdings of U.S. stocks reached $17 trillion last year, according to data compiled by Nasdaq.
The SEC filing marks Nasdaq’s first formal step toward implementing 24-hour trading, five days a week. In March, Nasdaq President Tal Cohen said the company had begun discussions with regulators and expected to roll out continuous trading in the second half of 2026. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Cboe Global Markets have also recently announced similar plans to operate around the clock.
“There has long been a trend toward globalization, and we’ve seen U.S. markets become far more global,” Chuck Mack, Nasdaq’s senior vice president of North American markets.
New operating structure
Nasdaq plans to extend trading hours for stocks and ETFs from 16 to 23 hours a day, five days a week. Currently, the exchange operates across three daily sessions: premarket trading (4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET), the regular session (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), and after-hours trading (4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.).
Under the new structure, trading will be divided into two sessions. The daytime session will run from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., followed by a one-hour break for maintenance, testing, and clearing. The overnight session will begin at 9:00 p.m. and end at 4:00 a.m. the following day.
The daytime session will retain the traditional opening bell at 9:30 a.m. and closing bell at 4:00 p.m. During the overnight session, trades executed between 9:00 p.m. and midnight will be recorded as transactions for the following trading day. The trading week will begin on Sunday at 9:00 p.m. and conclude on Friday at 8:00 p.m.
- Check out our free forex signals
- Follow the top economic events on FX Leaders economic calendar
- Trade better, discover more Forex Trading Strategies
- Open a FREE Trading Account
