24 hours trading? Reports say Nasdaq is on its way to make it a reality

The tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange, home to big tech and "magnificent seven" companies such as Nvidia, Apple, among others, is gearing up to make 24-hour trading a reality, according to a Reuters report.

The report states that Nasdaq is planning to submit paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to roll out the round-the-clock trading mechanism, to capitalize on the global demand for US equities.

As per Nasdaq data, the US stock market represents nearly two-thirds of the market value of listed companies globally, while the total foreign holding of US equities stood at $17 trillion in 2025. Such demand has prompted regulators to introduce new rules and approve proposals from exchanges to enable trading beyond market hours, the Reuters report stated.

Nasdaq's President Tal Cohen had said back in March this year, that the exchange has started discussions with regulators and were expected to launch non-stop trading for five days in a week by the second half of 2026. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Cboe Global Markets also announced plans for 24-hours trading.

US markets currently function for 16 hours and Nasdaq plans to extend that to 23. Currently, a pre-market session runs from 4 AM to 9:30 AM Eastern time, regular markets run from 9:30 AM to 4 PM, while the post-market (afterhours) session runs from 4 PM to 8 PM.

As and when the shift happens to a 23-hour slot, the day session will begin at 4 AM and end at 8 PM, followed by a one hour break for maintenance, testing, and clearing of trades. Post the break, the night session will begin at 9 PM and go on till 4 AM the next day, according to the report.

While pre-market, regular and post-market session will continue as usual, the trades executed between 9 PM and 12 AM during the night session will be considered for trades the following day, the report said.