On July 23, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it will host a roundtable on September 17, 2026, to discuss paths toward 24-hour trading in U.S. equity markets. The roundtable will address preparations needed to support overnight trading, operational and resiliency considerations in a round-the-clock market, and the opportunities and challenges associated with expanding trading hours.
The roundtable reflects the SEC’s continued focus under Chairman Paul Atkins on modernizing the structure of U.S. equity markets and evaluating whether existing rules and market infrastructure can accommodate expanded trading availability. Market participants are expected to actively engage in the discussion given the operational, risk-management, and technology implications of moving toward continuous trading. Some U.S. retail brokerages currently offer trading of certain equity securities nearly 24 hours a day, 6 days a week via alternative trading systems (ATSs), and other major industry players, including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, have announced plans to enable near-24-hour trading, 5 days a week, subject to regulatory approval.
The event will be open to the public and held at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., with a live stream available on SEC.gov and a recording to be posted afterward. The event announcement is linked here.