Cboe Global Markets has formally submitted a proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking approval to introduce near 24-hour trading for U.S. equities on its EDGX exchange. The Chicago-based exchange operator filed the request on March 16, 2026, with plans to roll out the extended service as early as December 2026, pending regulatory clearance and readiness of key market infrastructure.
The proposed framework would allow trading of all listed National Market System (NMS) securities on EDGX from 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday through 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday. A brief daily maintenance window would close the market from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, creating what amounts to round-the-clock availability outside of U.S. holidays. All resulting transactions would settle through the established Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) infrastructure.
The move is a direct response to surging global demand for flexible access to American equities. Oliver Sung, Head of North American Equities at Cboe, described the filing as a "key milestone" aligning the company with an anticipated industry-wide launch later this year. He emphasized Cboe's proven ability to run highly liquid, continuous markets in equity derivatives and foreign exchange, which will underpin safeguards for market stability and investor protection.
Interest in trading U.S. shares outside conventional hours has accelerated dramatically. Cboe already provides early-morning access from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET on two of its exchanges, including EDGX, and reported a staggering 590 percent rise in average daily volume during that window between February 2022 and February 2026. The company has also maintained successful around-the-clock operations in its proprietary index futures and options, where activity during global trading hours reached new highs in 2026.
Beyond regulatory clearance, Cboe highlights broader market connectivity and dependable real-time information as critical success factors. The company continues to widen distribution of its consolidated Cboe One U.S. Equities Feed, which aggregates live data from all four of its domestic equity venues. Those venues together captured 20.2 percent of total on-exchange U.S. equity volume in 2025. Brian McElligott, head of Cboe Data Vantage, underscored the foundational role of accurate market data, highlighting growing demand from European and Asia-Pacific investors.
If approved, the initiative would mark a significant expansion of Cboe’s trading ecosystem and one of the most substantial changes to U.S. equities trading hours in decades, moving the market closer to a continuous global trading model. Final implementation remains subject to SEC review and coordinated infrastructure upgrades across the marketplace.
