Sleepless on Wall Street: All-night stock exchanges coming soon

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomeInvestorNewsSleepless on Wall Street: All-night stock exchanges coming soonNasdaq, NYSE Arca, 24X National Exchange and Cboe EDGX have crafted plans to add an overnight sessionAuthor of the article:Last updated 11 minutes ago The Nasdaq Marketsite is seen during morning trading on April 7, 2025, in New York City. Nasdaq is among equity exchanges planning to add an overnight session from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. in New York starting Dec. 6, 2026. Photo by Michael M. Santiago /Getty ImagesFor decades, U.S. equity exchanges have hit the pause button every night, leaving markets shut for several hours. Come December, the lights will stay on much longer as the stock market shifts toward around-the-clock trading.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountNasdaq, NYSE Arca, 24X National Exchange and Cboe EDGX have crafted plans to add an overnight session from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. in New York, on top of the regular hours and existing pre- and post-market periods they already operate. The expansion, set to take place on Dec. 6, seeks to capture growing demand from foreign investors while competing with crypto and prediction markets, which have upended traditional expectations of Wall Street’s operating hours.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Overnight trading has existed for years, primarily through alternative trading systems, but it’s made up a tiny slice of the total activity — around one per cent of equity trading volume in the second quarter, data presented at a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) roundtable last week show. But while tiny next to daytime trading by any account, overnight trading is growing quickly, surging 358 per cent from a year ago.Canada's best source for investing news, analysis and insight.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Investor will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe anticipated implementation of 23/5 trading has sparked a debate about what longer hours would mean for market participants worldwide. Proponents say the expansion will remove time-zone barriers and give foreign traders better access to U.S. markets. Skeptics see lower liquidity and wider bid-ask spreads as amplifying trading risks.Institutional investors are mainly worried “about the market quality during the extended hours,” said David Easthope, a senior analyst at Crisil Coalition Greenwich, while concerns about operations and staffing are not necessarily at the top of their list.A survey of buy-side equity traders the firm conducted last year showed market participants were not eager to trade stocks around the clock. With fewer players active outside regular hours, investors could face lower trading volumes, thinner liquidity and wider bid-ask spreads. That could bring additional operational risk and complexity, or even affect traders’ own physical and mental health, the survey showed.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.The group’s sentiment has somewhat improved since the survey was conducted in the second part of 2025. There’s now “a greater sense of inevitability,” particularly as regulators move forward with the changes, Easthope said.The concept of overnight trading has been popular with retail investors and trading venues for years. Once the December changes kick in, “the usual suspects will be there and be ready,” said Brian Hyndman, chief executive of Blue Ocean Technologies, one of the ATS providers that currently facilitate overnight trading.“But I still think that we’re missing part of the industry, and that’s really the buy side and the investment banks,” he added. “They’ve been hesitant to get involved.”Key market infrastructure providers are also preparing for the shift. Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., the main firm responsible for clearing U.S. stock trades, in June moved to a 24×5 model running from 8 p.m. New York time on Sunday to 8 p.m. New York time on Friday. Securities Information Processors, or SIPs, which collect and distribute quotes and trade data, also got a regulatory nod to extend their operating hours to support overnight trading.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Proponents of the shift are likely betting on the idea that once the infrastructure is there, institutional demand will follow suit, said Joseph Saluzzi, partner and co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading LLC.Yet he’s skeptical about the transition.“Institutional investors have no interest in trading in a low liquidity, wide-spread market which is likely to be very volatile,” he said, adding that the combined volume of pre- and post-market trading on the exchanges accounts for just about 10 per cent of the overall trading activity. “There’s actually a case, if you wanted to make it, that we have too many hours in the market, not too few.”For now, institutional investors remain in wait and see mode. If the Dec. 6 shift improves price discovery during late hours, the cost of trading will eventually drop, helping institutional money managers capture alpha during the night, according to Jeff O’Connor, Liquidnet’s head of market structure.Naturally, foreign investors are particularly active in late hours. They accounted for 37 per cent of overnight trading volume in the second quarter, compared with just seven per cent for institutional accounts, according to the SEC data.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.That trading activity is also highly concentrated. In August, just 15 stocks on average were responsible for half of the total overnight volume, often including sub-dollar shares of companies domiciled in China and Hong Kong. By contrast, 256 stocks accounting for half the volume during the regular session.For now, Nasdaq and NYSE operate core sessions from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, five days a week. Those hours are supplemented by before- and after-hours sessions allowing limited types of trading starting as early as 4 a.m. and a post-market session from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. After the December expansion, the exchanges will still have a one-hour break from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. for maintenance and trade processing.This advertisement has not loaded yet.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.