U.S. stocks could soon trade for almost 24 hours a day

The New York Stock Exchange (ICE-0.93%) on Friday announced plans to extend its weekday trading on its U.S. equities market to 22 hours a day.

That would mean the NYSE Arca — the top electronic exchange in the United States — will allow trading from 1:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The NYSE’s core trading session is currently 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m on weekdays.

“The NYSE’s initiative to extend U.S. equity trading to 22 hours a day, 5 days a week underscores the strength of our U.S. capital markets and growing demand for our listed securities around the world,” said Kevin Tyrrell, head of markets at the NYSE. “As the steward of the U.S. capital markets, the NYSE is pleased to lead the way in enabling exchange-based trading for our U.S.-listed companies and funds to investors in time zones across the globe.”

This comes as the rise of alternative trading platforms has put established institutions on guard. In May 2023, mobile trading platform Robinhood (HOOD-0.64%) said it would begin allowing trading of select stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) on its app from Sunday 8 p.m. through Friday 8 p.m. — 24 hours a day, five days a week.

But what the NYSE has that most rivals don’t is volume. All U.S. securities, or some 8,000 securities listed on U.S stock exchanges, including ETFs, trade on the exchange. With the new hours, all U.S.-listed stocks, ETFs, and closed-end funds would be available for trading on NYSE Arca 22 hours a day.

Trading on NYSE Arca during the new extended hours will continue to be cleared by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which also recently announced plans to extend its hours of operation, the NYSE said. These changes are still subject to regulatory approval.