Wall Street Never Sleeps: Nasdaq Plans to Unlock Nonstop Trading for Global Investors

Nasdaq has shared its intentions of enabling continuous trading at the US stock market. This follows an increased need for trading outside of the conventional trading hours provided by Wall Street.

Nasdaq Adopts Model for Continuous Trading

The exchange has submitted official paperwork to the SEC that would make it possible for stocks to trade almost 24/7. The move comes because of increased demand for US stocks from around the globe.

The exchange stated that foreign interest has been on the rise in recent years. According to data from the exchange, U.S. stocks represent almost two-thirds of the listed market value globally. Moreover, foreign investors held almost $17 trillion in U.S. stocks in the previous year.

This is the first official move towards round-the-clock trading. Back in the first half of this year, Nasdaq President Tal Cohen said that talks with regulators have already begun ahead of launch in the second half of 2026.

This comes on the heels of other major facilities making similar announcements. The NYSE and Cboe Global Markets have plans to increase the operating time for trading. According to the exchange chiefs, the U.S. exchanges are not strictly local platforms but rather global facilities for investors on other continents.

A lot of this demand is being driven by countries in Asia. Here, business hours do not coincide with standard U.S. trading hours. Though overnight volumes of trade are lower than those during daytime hours, it has seen an increasing interest from investors wanting to react new developments.

Extended trading hours will permit global investors to buy and sell the best stocks of companies across the globe without recourse to alternative trading platforms or waiting for the U.S. market to open. 

The trend is apparent in the ETF market as well. For example, Tidal Trust filed a Bitcoin AfterDark ETF. The reason they gave for this filing is the demand they received.

How Will the New Trading Schedule Work?

Under this proposed plan, trading hours are expected to increase from the existing 16 hours to 23 hours on each weekday. Nasdaq will cover a “day session” running from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.

There would be a one-hour break for system maintenance and trading clearing before the night trading session that would run between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. The trades placed prior to midnight would be reflected in the next trading day.

Functioning on a continuous trading system requires many major infrastructure modifications. One of these is a securities information processor, which disseminates regular stock prices. The demand can be highlighted as Nasdaq also filed for tokenized stock trading this year.

Meanwhile, some Wall Street banks warn that lower liquidity during overnight hours could amplify volatility and raise questions about profitability.