On December 15, 2025, Nasdaq submitted a proposed rule change to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) seeking approval to expand significantly its equity trading hours.  If approved, the change would allow trading in Nasdaq-listed equity securities and exchange-traded products for 23 hours per weekday, representing a notable shift in U.S. equity market structure.  Under the proposal, Nasdaq would maintain its existing daytime trading framework while adding a new overnight session.  Specifically:

  • Day Session:  4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, encompassing current pre-market, regular, and after-hours trading
  • Daily Pause:  8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET for system maintenance, testing, clearing, and the processing of corporate actions
  • Night Session:  9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET

Nasdaq has emphasized that overnight trading would not offer the same functionality as regular market hours.  The proposed night session would operate with fewer available order types and reduced regulatory protections relative to the regular session. Nasdaq has also acknowledged that liquidity during overnight hours may be limited, particularly during the initial rollout.  Nasdaq’s filing follows the SEC’s approval on an accelerated basis of the New York Stock Exchange’s (“NYSE”) proposal to extend trading hours on NYSE Arca, the NYSE’s fully electronic equities exchange, from 16 hours a day to 22 hours a day, five days a week.  At the broker level, several platforms already offer extended or near-continuous trading in certain U.S. securities, responding to investor demand for the ability to trade in response to global events occurring outside standard U.S. market hours.

Some market participants have raised questions about whether near-continuous trading could amplify existing structural challenges in U.S. equity markets.  These include concerns about reduced liquidity during overnight hours, heightened volatility, and the effects of extended access on trading behavior.  Observers also have noted that trading activity is already concentrated around the market open and close, prompting debate over whether longer trading days would enhance price discovery or simply spread limited liquidity across additional hours.

Extended trading hours also may have implications for issuers and intermediaries.  For listed companies, fewer market closures could narrow traditional windows for disclosures and internal planning.  For issuers and their advisers, this raises a number of considerations regarding the timing of Regulation FD-type announcements as well as compliance with listed company rules relating to the timing of announcements relating to the occurrence of certain corporate events.  It also raises concerns relating to corporate actions.  There are no coherent, comprehensive rules across the securities exchanges and the clearing systems and the securities rules to address the announcements of many corporate actions.  This from time to time leads to trading disruption around events like stock splits, spin-offs, distributions, re-listings following bankruptcies and the like.  For broker-dealers and other market participants, expanded hours may require reassessing staffing, supervision, and compliance frameworks, particularly if participation varies significantly across sessions.

Nasdaq’s proposal reflects broader interest in expanded market access while raising regulatory, operational, and market structure considerations that will be evaluated through the SEC’s rulemaking process.  Read Nasdaq’s proposal to the SEC.