The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will hold a public roundtable on Sept. 17 to examine preparations for expanded trading hours in U.S. equity markets. The event will focus on overnight trading, market operations, resiliency and the challenges of moving toward near-continuous trading.
The SEC confirmed the agenda and panelists on Sept. 1. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET at the agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters and will also be livestreamed.
Overnight Trading Takes Center Stage
The first panel will examine how exchanges and broker-dealers are preparing for 24-hour markets. Discussions will c over overnight surveillance, closing-price processes, clearance and settlement, investor protections and expected liquidity conditions.
Participants include representatives from Robinhood, NYSE, BlackRock, Virtu Financial, Cboe, UBS and FINRA. The SEC says the discussion will assess what firms have completed and what work remains before expanded trading can begin.
The initiative could bring U.S. equities closer to markets that already operate for extended or continuous periods. It also reflects growing interest in giving investors access to U.S. stocks outside traditional market hours.
Resiliency and Infrastructure Remain Key
A second panel will focus on whether financial infrastructure can support a market that operates around the clock. Topics will include system readiness, Regulation SCI requirements, fail over planning, capacity, market-data continuity, cybersecurity and overnight staffing.
Representatives from Jane Street, State Street, Samsung, Charles Schwab, Nasdaq, Interactive Brokers and DTCC are scheduled to participate.
The SEC will then examine the broader effects on liquidity, capital formation and market participation. The agency will also consider future steps toward 24-by-7 trading and the infrastructure required to support it.
The roundtable does not itself establish a launch date for 24-hour stock trading. Instead, it provides a public forum to evaluate operational readiness, investor protections and the potential market-structure implications before further expansion.
