US Stock Exchanges Push for 24/7 Trading to Boost Liquidity and Guard Against Price Manipulation

US stock trading is currently concentrated in regular weekday sessions during Eastern Time business hours. Pre-market and after-hours orders are largely matched by brokers and alternative trading systems, where liquidity is thinner and quotes are fragmented. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are pushing for 24/7 trading to strengthen continuous price discovery, reduce the risk that retail investors are exposed to opaque pricing and compete with round-the-clock crypto platforms.

The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have recently stepped up efforts to ease restrictions on trading hours. They want to expand US equity trading beyond limited pre-market and after-hours sessions to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, reducing brokers’ dominance over pricing outside regular hours. Existing reports have not disclosed a regulatory approval date, formal launch date, number of participating brokerages or related investment amounts.