Nasdaq, USA The exchange is pushing for "24/7" stock trading.
On December 15 local time, Nasdaq announced that it will formally submit application documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to add a session in addition to the existing pre-market, regular and after-hours trading sessions, extending it from the current 16 hours on five trading days a week to 23 hours.
Specifically, Nasdaq may officially launch extended trading services in the second half of 2026, with plans to set up two trading sessions: 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (daytime trading session) and 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. (nighttime trading session). In addition, during trading week, trading will begin at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday and close at 8:00 p.m. after the end of the daytime trading session on Friday, in order to meet the trading demand of global investors for US stocks.
In fact, as early as March of this year, Nasdaq President Tal Cohen stated that the exchange operator had begun discussions with regulators and expected to launch five-day-a-week, 24/7 trading in the second half of 2026.
Currently, retail investors have differing opinions on the extended trading hours for US stocks. Some investors find the "sleepless stock market exciting"; however, others feel that "it's awful to see your holdings suddenly plummet at 1 a.m. when you're completely drunk!", "The stock market has finally achieved what cryptocurrencies have had for years," and "This will keep me sleep-deprived."
Neil Hosie, Managing Director and Head of Global Financial Markets Trading at UBS, is taking a cautious approach to extending stock trading hours.
He Liyan pointed out in an interview with Jiemian News that although the technology has the ability to achieve 24-hour trading, extending trading hours is not the key factor in improving liquidity. "7×24" trading cannot directly increase the total trading volume of stocks.
“Market performance depends more on investors’ interest in the stocks themselves and their fundamental valuations.” He observed that UBS’ institutional investors do not have a high demand for 24-hour trading. “In practice, the vast majority of trades will still be completed within the standardized trading hours.”
In recent years, including Tokyo Securities Exchanges, New York Stock Exchange , Chicago Board Options Exchange Securities and futures exchanges in many countries have applied for or implemented extended trading hours. Extending trading hours is becoming an important measure for major financial exchanges to compete for liquidity and expand their international influence.
However, extending stock trading hours often requires careful consideration, including thorough communication with various market participants and upgrades to clearing, settlement, and systems. For example, at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's 2025 interim results media briefing in August, HKEX Chief Executive Officer Chan Yik-ting stated that HKEX would adhere to a prudent and gradual approach, drawing on international industry experience and considering the actual situation of the local market.
Looking at the current trading hours of major global stock markets, the London Stock Exchange , Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and Paris Stock Exchange have a daily trading time of 8.5 hours; the Singapore Stock Exchange has a trading time of 7 hours; the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have a trading time of 6.5 hours; and the Korea Stock Exchange also extended its trading hours in 2016 from 6 hours to 6.5 hours.
Currently, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges operate on a four-hour trading day. Regarding whether the trading hours for China's A-share market should be extended, Zhang Wei (pseudonym), a seasoned investor, told Jiemian News that longer trading hours provide investors with more time for decision-making and execution, helping to attract more capital, boost trading activity, and make the price discovery process more continuous and thorough. Furthermore, the current highly electronic trading system and powerful data processing capabilities provide the technological foundation for supporting longer and more stable operations. "Overall, whether and how to extend A-share trading hours is a multi-dimensional decision involving market efficiency, operating costs, and investor habits."
Han Qi (pseudonym), an IT engineer at a securities firm, pointed out to Jiemian News in an interview that for securities companies, the working hours and costs of system maintenance, manpower on duty, and clearing and settlement may increase, and the pressure on regulatory agencies to monitor in real time will also increase.
In an interview with Jiemian News, Xi Junyang, a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, pointed out that extending trading hours increases the trading time available to investors, improves convenience, and helps enhance market liquidity. "Since stock market trading is now electronic, it is feasible to appropriately extend the trading hours of the A-share market. A relatively simple and easy way to do this is to adjust the midday break into trading hours, allowing continuous trading."
(Article source: Jiemian News)
