The official stock market hours are 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday to Friday. With extended hours on many trading platforms, investors can already buy and sell stocks and ETFs even from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm via alternative trading systems and broker-dealer platforms. But wait, get ready for 24-hour trading in stocks and ETFs.
Oggonomics has already covered how the NYSE wants to move toward 24-hour trading, or at least close to 24-hours. Now there is word that the NASDAQ is also going to move toward 24-hour trading for stocks and ETFs.
NASDAQ President Tal Cohen has posted on LinkedIn a confirmation that the NASDAQ is in fact targeting a 24-hour trading day. His post discusses technological advancements and evolving industry needs coming to 24-hour trading. That move may not be seen until late in 2026, but here is what he said:
We are excited to share that Nasdaq has begun engaging with regulators, market participants and other key stakeholders, with a view of enabling 24-hour trading five days a week on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Our timeline is pending regulatory approval and alignment with critical industry infrastructure providers, which we anticipate being in the second half of 2026.
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One key issue is that international market participation is on the rise. Cohen noted that total foreign holdings of U.S. equities rose to $17 trillion as of June 2024, up a sharp 97% since 2019. But…
Public companies may actually be potential opponents against 24-hour trading. After all, moves in the after-hours can be extremely volatile with much less liquidity and lower participation from investors. Cohen’s post warned:
A recent Nasdaq survey of our listed companies indicated that around half of the respondents have reservations about expanding trading hours on exchanges, in particular as it relates to liquidity and corporate actions. While overnight trading occurs today without the oversight, transparency, and resilience that exchanges can bring, once exchanges choose to participate as trading venues, corporate issuers will expect a materially improved experience for their investors.
This is not the first move toward 24-hour trading. One pending exchange has filed for an application with regulators and the NYSE was even further ahead of the NASDAQ for its overnight trading ambitions.
Well, there you have it. Get ready for 24-hour trading. It may not come until late in 2026, but it looks like it is on the way.
