Ever feel like the stock market closes right when you’re getting warmed up? Nasdaq’s got a solution—and it’s delightfully ambitious.
The exchange just announced plans to seek SEC approval for 24-hour trading, five days a week. That’s right: Monday through Friday, all day, all night, no breaks. Currently, the market opens at 9:30 a.m. ET and closes at 4 p.m. ET, which is basically a banker’s schedule from 1987. Nasdaq President Tal Cohen says they’re aiming for a launch in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approval and some industry coordination.
Why the push for round-the-clock trading? Simple: money never sleeps, and neither do global investors. Foreign holdings of U.S. equities have nearly doubled since 2019, hitting $17 trillion as of June 2024. That’s a lot of overseas investors staring at their screens during U.S. market hours, which for them might be 2 a.m. on a Tuesday. More than 56 ETFs tracking the Nasdaq 100 have launched in the last five years, and 98% of them were created outside the U.S. These folks want access when it’s convenient for them, not when New York decides to open the doors.
Cohen frames it as a wealth-building opportunity—and he’s not wrong. Expanding access to U.S. markets could attract even more international capital. The U.S. has the regulatory framework, the depth, and the sexy sectors (tech, healthcare) that make investors salivate. Why not let them trade when they want?
But here’s where it gets spicy: challenges abound. Overnight trading would mean thinner liquidity, which translates to higher volatility and fatter transaction costs. Imagine trying to sell 10,000 shares at 3 a.m.—you might not like the price you get. Plus, corporate issuers are nervous. A Nasdaq survey found that roughly half of listed companies have reservations about expanded trading hours, especially regarding liquidity and corporate actions. They’re worried their investors will get a raw deal when the market’s running on fumes.
Then there’s the infrastructure nightmare. U.S. markets process millions of messages per second. Adding 24-hour trading means coordinating across the entire industry—exchanges, brokers, clearinghouses, the whole ecosystem. One hiccup, and everyone feels it. It’s like trying to upgrade an airplane while it’s flying.
The NYSE already took a similar step last fall, proposing 22-hour trading for NYSE Arca (the ETF powerhouse). That application is still pending with the SEC, so Nasdaq’s move is part of a broader industry shift.
Is 24-hour trading inevitable? Probably. Is it complicated? Absolutely. But Nasdaq’s betting that the opportunity outweighs the headaches. As Cohen put it: ‘The question is not whether we can build a market that operates 24/5, but how we do so in a way that strengthens investor confidence.’
Translation: We’re doing this. We just need to figure out the details.
