By Joseph Adinolfi and Gordon Gottsegen
The exchange operator is asking regulators for permission to expand trading hours on its biggest stock exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Nasdaq Inc. on Friday announced the most ambitious plan yet by a major U.S. exchange operator to allow stocks to be traded around the clock.
President Tal Cohen said in a blog post that his firm could soon offer trading 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, on its main stock exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market
“We are excited to share that Nasdaq has begun engaging with regulators, market participants and other key stakeholders, with a view to enabling 24-hour trading five days a week on the Nasdaq Stock Market,” Cohen said in the blog post.
“Our timeline is pending regulatory approval and alignment with critical industry infrastructure providers, which we anticipate being in the second half of 2026.”
A representative familiar with Nasdaq’s plans told MarketWatch that the exchange intends to file with the SEC for approval soon. Nasdaq needs the Securities and Exchange Commission to sign off before moving ahead.
Expanding trading hours could present a challenge for the financial-services industry. Thorny issues related to risk management, trade surveillance and ensuring ample liquidity must be addressed, Cohen said in the post. Whether or not Nasdaq will ultimately secure approval from regulators remained unclear as of Friday. A representative from the SEC declined to comment.
The Nasdaq isn’t the first major U.S. exchange to announce plans to expand trading during the overnight session, which stretches from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Eastern time.
Back in October, the New York Stock Exchange, which is owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc., announced plans to allow customers to trade 22 hours a day on its electronic Arca exchange, from 1:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Eastern. In February, NYSE received approval from the SEC that could allow it to move forward.
In a blog post published late last month, Jon Herrick, chief product officer at NYSE, said the firm was waiting on approval from the securities information processor (SIP) committee — which consists of exchange groups, FINRA and industry advisors — before moving forward. The committee governs the data feeds used to process and consolidate bid-ask quotes and trades from registered exchanges and alternative platforms. Herrick said he expects Arca to begin offering 22-hour trading some time in 2025.
Normal hours in the U.S. market have been set at 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday, since 1985, when the New York Stock Exchange shifted the opening bell a half-hour earlier from 10 a.m.
But for years, U.S. exchanges have offered premarket and aftermarket trading. The premarket session begins at 4 a.m. Eastern and runs through the opening bell, while the aftermarket session starts at the closing bell and lasts until 8 p.m.
Some have expressed skepticism that major stock exchanges are ready for 24-hour-a-day trading. At one point in the February blog post, Herrick cited some obstacles that could make such a shift exceedingly difficult, or preclude it entirely.
Among them was the notion that exchanges still needed to take at least a one-hour break once a day to clear trades and perform system maintenance, Herrick said.
See: Don’t sweat the closing bell. It’s easier than ever to trade stocks around the clock.
So far, other major industry players appear to be accommodating exchanges’ desire to expand trading hours. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., the main clearinghouse for the U.S. equity market, expanded the hours for its clearing services to 1:30 a.m. Eastern back in September. That means the organization can clear trades during the entirety of the 22-hour day envisioned by NYSE.
