On March 16, exchange operator Cboe disclosed that it has submitted a formal proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch near 24x5 trading for U.S. equities on one of its platforms. The proposed program would run on the firm's EDGX Equities Exchange and is subject to regulatory approval.
Under the plan outlined in the filing, trading would be available from Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET through Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET, with a recurring one-hour operational pause between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET from Monday through Thursday. Cboe has targeted December 2026 as the launch month, contingent on clearance from the SEC and coordination with other industry participants.
This filing is part of a broader competitive push among exchanges to capture increased investor demand for continuous trading. A peer exchange has said it planned to submit paperwork to pursue round-the-clock trading as well, highlighting an industry-wide effort to expand hours for U.S. stocks.
"Cboe’s filing with the SEC is the latest step in ensuring we are ready to offer overnight trading once the industry launches in December," Oliver Sung, head of North American Equities, said in a statement.
Cboe noted marked growth in activity ahead of the filing: average daily volume on its platforms rose by 590% from February 2022 to February 2026. The operator already runs limited extended sessions, offering trading between 4:00 a.m. ET and 7:00 a.m. ET on two of its four exchanges.
In addition to equities trading services, Cboe provides markets for derivatives and volatility products, including instruments tied to its flagship VIX volatility index, a widely referenced gauge of market volatility.
The filing and the stated launch timeline highlight two immediate dependencies: regulatory approval from the SEC and broader industry coordination to initiate extended continuous trading in December. Cboe’s statement frames the submission as a preparatory step to align systems and operations for overnight activity should the industry proceed as planned.
Separately, market-focused tools and advisory services have pointed to broker and exchange listings as areas investors may evaluate. For example, a market analysis product described its process for assessing the exchange operator ticker NDAQ and highlighted historical model winners in other coverage, naming Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%) as past examples of the model’s picks.
The proposal represents a material operational change for U.S. equities markets and adds to existing debate among market participants and regulators over the implications of substantially extended trading hours.