Nasdaq Inc. plans to extend U.S. stock trading to nearly 23 hours daily by launching an overnight session from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Eastern Time, pending regulatory approval. The proposed schedule includes a one-hour daily pause from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET for system processing. The exchange has set December 6, 2026, as a potential start date if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) eliminates Rule 610 of Regulation National Market System (Reg NMS), which currently requires trades to execute at the best available displayed price.
The SEC’s June proposal to repeal Rule 610 has drawn opposition from Citadel Securities, which argues the change would allow brokers to bypass best displayed prices and route orders to dark venues. Stephen John Berger, head of government affairs at Citadel Securities, called the SEC’s projected compliance savings of roughly $250,000 per trading day "modest," adding that the regulator’s economic analysis was "fatally flawed." The rule, established in 2005, prohibits locked or crossed markets and mandates price protection across exchanges.
Nasdaq’s overnight session would restrict trading to limit orders submitted via dedicated broker ports, excluding market, opening, and closing order types. The exchange proposes static price bands to reject orders outside specified parameters, aiming to mitigate volatility risks. Existing overnight venues such as Blue Ocean and 24 Exchange operate outside Reg NMS, with no obligation to follow the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) pricing standard.
The SEC’s proposal to eliminate Rule 610 was unanimously advanced in June by Chairman Paul Atkins and fellow commissioners. The rule change would align with Nasdaq’s broader push to modernize trading hours, though critics warn it could concentrate liquidity in less transparent venues. The exchange’s plan remains contingent on regulatory clearance and market feedback.
