Are U.S. stocks heading toward a "sleepless night"? CBOE plans to launch 24×5 around-the-clock trading

On March 17, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced a significant plan to officially launch a 24-hour x 5-day trading model for U.S. stocks in December 2026. This news was like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up ripples throughout the global financial community.

On March 17, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced a significant plan to officially launch a 24-hour x 5-day trading model for U.S. stocks in December 2026. This news was like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up ripples throughout the global financial community. This is not just a simple extension of trading hours, but a deep reconstruction of market rules, trading ecology, and even the logic of global capital allocation.

CBOE has submitted a related proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), aiming to implement this new trading model at its EDGX stock exchange. According to the plan, the new trading hours will cover Sunday night at 9 PM to Friday night at 8 PM Eastern Time, with a one-hour pause from 8 PM to 9 PM Eastern Time on Monday to Thursday, achieving truly “round-the-clock” service to maximize trading continuity.

CBOE’s plan is not a solitary endeavor; it has ignited a battle among major U.S. exchanges for “around-the-clock trading.” The landscape of the capital market is rapidly evolving from “time zone dividends” to “boundaryless services.”

Nasdaq: As the second-largest exchange operator in the U.S., Nasdaq has stated its intention to submit an application for around-the-clock trading by December 2025, adding a new trading period outside of the existing pre-market, regular, and after-hours trading sessions, extending from the current 16 hours over five trading days to 23 hours. Specifically, Nasdaq is expected to officially launch extended trading services in the second half of 2026, planning to set up two trading periods: from 4 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time (day trading period) and from 9 PM to 4 AM (night trading period); additionally, during the trading week, trading will start at 9 PM on Sunday and close at 8 PM after the daytime trading session on Friday to meet global investors’ trading needs for U.S. stocks.

NYSE: In October last year, the New York Stock Exchange, under Intercontinental Exchange Group, announced plans to extend trading hours to 22 hours a day, with a two-hour break from 11:30 PM to 1:30 AM local time. In February this year, the SEC announced it approved changes to exchange rules, allowing the NYSE to continue to push forward on related matters.

In recent years, multiple securities and futures exchanges including the Tokyo Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, and Chicago Board Options Exchange have applied for or implemented extended trading hours. Extending trading hours is becoming an important measure for major financial exchanges to compete for liquidity and expand international influence.

From the current trading hours of the major global stock markets, the London Stock Exchange, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and Paris Stock Exchange have daily trading hours of 8.5 hours; the Singapore Exchange has a trading duration of 7 hours; while the U.S. New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have trading hours of 6.5 hours; and the Korean Stock Exchange also extended trading hours in 2016 from 6 hours to 6.5 hours. In contrast, the trading duration of domestic Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges is currently 4 hours.