Nasdaq plans to offer 24-hour trading on its stock exchange Monday through Friday

Nasdaq Inc. announced on March 7 that it’s seeking regulators’ permission to expand trading hours on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the world’s biggest stock exchange. The exchange wants to launch 24-hour trading Monday through Friday.

The stock exchange plans to submit filings seeking approval from regulators on Friday, according to a source familiar with Nasdaq’s plans. They require the Securities and Exchange Commission to sign off before moving ahead with the plan.

Nasdaq wants to offer 24-hour trading on its stock exchange

🚨🇺🇸NASDAQ PLANS 24-HOUR TRADING LAUNCH IN 2026 TO TRANSFORM GLOBAL MARKETS

NASDAQ announced today a bold move to offer round-the-clock trading on its equities platform starting mid-2026, pending SEC approval, expanding beyond its current 9:30 AM-4:00 PM ET hours to meet global… https://t.co/pLL2n7RtUe pic.twitter.com/cQnVj8tlQQ

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 7, 2025

Nasdaq revealed its ambitious plan never done by a major U.S. exchange operator to introduce stock trading around the clock. The firm is asking regulators to allow it to offer 24-hour stock trading Monday through Friday.

In a blog post published today, Nasdaq President Tal Cohen said that his company could soon offer trading 24 hours a day 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.”

–Tal Cohen, President of Nasdaq Inc.

Cohen said that the firm’s timeline was pending regulatory approval and alignment with critical industry infrastructure providers. He also anticipates that the approval will be in the second half of 2026.

The company’s President acknowledged that expanding trading hours could present a challenge for the financial services industry. He argued that issues related to risk management, trade surveillance, and ensuring ample liquidity must be addressed. Cohen said he was not certain that the stock exchange would have secured approval from regulators as of Friday.

Brian Hyndman, Blue Ocean Technologies LLC’s chief executive and president, iterated that he wasn’t surprised Nasdaq was getting into 24-hour trading, “I’m surprised they’re doing it so late.” Hyndman also noted that trading volumes in extended trading hours had also grown.

A recent NYSE study found that the average daily volume of off-hour trading had increased from around 700 million shares in 2021 to more than 1.7 billion shares as of January 2025. He believes that the number will continue to grow into the tens of billions over the next few years, especially if more exchanges enable 24-hour trading.

Nasdaq joins other stock exchanges to offer extended trading periods

The exchange followed the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to make plans to expand trading in the overnight session, which stretches from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Eastern time.

NYSE, owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE), announced plans in October 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. The stock exchange received approval from the SEC in February that could allow it to move forward.

Chief product officer at NYSE Jon Herrick highlighted that the exchange was awaiting approval from the securities information processor (SIP) committee before moving forward. The committee includes exchange groups, FINRA and industry advisors, who govern the data feeds used to process and consolidate bid-ask quotes. 

The firm’s official expects Arca to begin offering 22-hour trading sometime this year. Herrick argued that the exchanges still needed to take at least a one-hour break once a day to clear trades and perform system maintenance.  

The U.S. market has had normal trading hours set at 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday, since 1985. The stock exchanges have maintained that time since the New York Stock Exchange shifted the opening bell a half-hour earlier from 10 a.m. Over the years, U.S. exchanges have also offered premarket and aftermarket trading. 

The exchanges start their premarket session at 4 a.m. Eastern, which runs through the opening bell, while they begin the aftermarket session at the closing bell, which lasts until 8 p.m.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. also expanded its clearing services hours to 1:30 a.m. Eastern back in September. The firm said it can now clear trades during the entirety of the 22-hour day envisioned by NYSE. Val Wotton, a managing director at DTCC, revealed that the company was actively discussing the further extension of National Securities Clearing Corp.’s hours with its members.

Some electronic brokerages have also been pushing the stock exchange space to allow customers to trade certain products around the clock. Companies, including Robinhood Markets Inc., Charles Schwab Corp., and Interactive Brokers Group, are offering extended and overnight trading hours for some stocks and ETFs.

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