Nasdaq could move toward 24/7 stock trading with new market hours. Here’s why that will be challenging

Trading could soon be very different on the Nasdaq stock market if the stock exchange gets its way. That’s because Nasdaq president Tal Cohen has announced the exchange’s plans to introduce 24-hour trading to the platform in the near future.

The move to 24-hour trading would represent a seismic shift for the Nasdaq—and present opportunities and challenges to investors, businesses, and the media who cover them. Here’s what you need to know.

Nasdaq proposes 24/5 trading

In a blog post published today, Nasdaq president Tal Cohen has proposed what is colloquially called “24/5 trading”—the ability to trade stocks and other securities on exchange 24 hours a day for 5 days a week.

In the blog post announcing Nasdaq’s intention, Cohen calls the potential move a “pivotal moment” of modernization for the exchange.

“We are excited to share that Nasdaq has begun engaging with regulators, market participants and other key stakeholders, with a view of enabling 24-hour trading five days a week on the Nasdaq Stock Market,” he wrote, noting that 24-hour trading could “expand wealth-building opportunities” and “broaden investor access.”

However, the Nasdaq operates in a highly regulated industry, so it cannot unilaterally decide to offer 24-hour trading. Not only does it need to get regulatory approval, but it must also ensure that it and its technology and financial partners that enable millions to trade securities on its platform have it within their means to facilitate a switch to 24-hour trading.

“The U.S. equities markets process millions of messages per second, and every incremental change—whether in trading rules or the guardrails that protect investors—requires seamless industry-wide coordination, thoughtful planning, testing, and coordinated implementation,” Cohen noted. “A harmonized and aligned approach across all markets is key to avoiding operational complexity and ensuring a seamless customer experience.”

While Cohen didn’t explicitly state the company’s new proposed 24-hour trading hours, given that they would be five days a week, the new trading period would likely run from 12:01 a.m. on Monday to 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Eastern Time (ET). Currently, the Nasdaq trades from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET Monday to Friday, like other major U.S. markets.

The Nasdaq also currently offers extended trading hours. Pre-market trading runs from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET, and post-market trading runs from 4:00 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday.

If the Nasdaq gets approval for its new 24/5 trading schedule, it will add an additional eight hours to every trading day.

Who does 24/5 trading benefit?

Well, one of the biggest beneficiaries, of course, is Nasdaq. The exchange makes its money by charging fees for the services it provides with each trade. The more trades being made, the more money Nasdaq stands to make.

But Nasdaq would argue that a move to 24/5 trading will benefit investors in general, who would be able to trade any time they want during the five-day workweek.

However, another big benefit would be to a specific type of investor: those who live internationally, especially those in Asia. Due to time differences, many investors in Asia—at least retail investors—are typically off work or sleeping for the night when American exchange activity is at its height. For example, there is a 14-hour time difference between Japan and New York.

By switching to a 24/5 trading schedule, investors in Asia would have more access to U.S. markets during their normal waking hours.

“Attracting more investment to our markets presents a compelling opportunity for both the U.S. and global economy,” Cohen wrote. “It is therefore incumbent on us to enhance access for those operating across different time zones.”

Companies and the media may find 24/5 trading challenging

Of course, while Nasdaq and international traders might find 24/5 trading beneficial, other entities—including the companies whose shares trade on the Nasdaq and the media who report on them—could find the move challenging.

Companies, especially the ones found on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, like Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, and more, like to control when investors receive news about them, as much as they can, anyway. The reason for this is that news, especially when it’s first disseminated, can make a stock’s price swing wildly in one direction or another.

This is why many companies report their earnings before or after regular market hours. Retail investors typically don’t trade in those hours, which helps mitigate any large-scale fear- or greed-based selling or buying when news hits.

If stocks are traded 24/5, companies lose this buffer—which could lead to increased trading volatility. If this change happens, every CEO or CFO will have to be extra careful what they say during earnings calls, as any statement—correctly interpreted or not—could lead to instant trading volatility.

And for the media covering Nasdaq companies—and the markets in general—well, they will no longer be able to call it a night after 4 p.m. If the Nasdaq is trading 24/5, that means U.S. financial news is now happening 24/5, and investors are going to want real-time analysis and updates.

When does Nasdaq’s new trading begin?

Currently, there’s no definitive date for Nasdaq’s 24/5 trading sessions to begin because the change needs to be approved by regulators—and Nasdaq needs to get the buy-in from its partners and the companies that trade on its exchange.

However, if everything goes as Nasdaq would like, Cohen says the company  anticipates 24/5 trading to begin “in the second half of 2026.”

Nasdaq, Inc. shares (Nasdaq: NDAQ) are currently down less than 1% to around $75.56 in early morning trading after the news was announced.

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