NEW YORK CITY, New York: U.S. stock markets may soon operate almost without pause, as Nasdaq prepares to take a formal step toward extending trading hours in response to growing global demand for American equities.

Nasdaq, one of the world's largest stock exchanges and home to companies such as Nvidia, Apple, and Amazon, plans to submit paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 15 to introduce 23-hour weekday trading, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Investor demand for nonstop access to U.S. stocks has surged in recent years, prompting regulators to update rules and approve proposals that allow trading beyond traditional market hours. U.S. equities account for nearly two-thirds of the global market value of listed companies, while foreign holdings of U.S. stocks reached US$17 trillion last year, according to Nasdaq data.

Nasdaq's filing will mark its first formal move toward round-the-clock trading, five days a week. In March, Nasdaq President Tal Cohen said the exchange had begun discussions with regulators and expected nonstop weekday trading to launch in the second half of 2026. The New York Stock Exchange and Cboe Global Markets have also announced plans to extend trading hours to a near-24/7 model.

"There's been this trend towards globalization for some time, and we've seen the U.S. markets themselves become much more global," said Chuck Mack, senior vice president of North American markets at Nasdaq.

Under the proposal, Nasdaq would expand trading hours for stocks and exchange-traded products from 16 hours to 23 hours a day, five days a week. Currently, Nasdaq operates three weekday sessions: pre-market trading from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, the regular market from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and post-market trading from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In the 23-hour model, Nasdaq would operate two sessions. The day session would run from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., followed by a one-hour break for maintenance, testing, and trade clearing. The night session would begin at 9 p.m. and run until 4 a.m. the following calendar day.

The opening bell would still ring at 9:30 a.m., with the closing bell at 4 p.m. Trades executed during the night session between 9 p.m. and midnight would be recorded as trades for the following day. The trading week would start on Sunday at 9 p.m. and conclude on Friday at 8 p.m. after the day's session.

A successful rollout of near round-the-clock trading depends on upgrades to the securities information processor, which consolidates and distributes stock price data across U.S. exchanges. The U.S. Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., which handles clearing and settlement, is expected to introduce nonstop clearing for stocks by the end of 2026.

Supporters of extended trading hours say it would allow investors, especially those outside the United States, to respond more quickly to news that breaks outside standard market hours. Some central Wall Street banks, however, remain cautious, citing concerns over thinner liquidity, higher volatility, and uncertain returns on investment.

While trading volumes during extended hours remain far lower than during the regular session, demand for overnight U.S. trading has grown rapidly, Mack said. Investors seeking 24/7 access currently rely on alternative trading systems such as Blue Ocean, Bruce ATS, and OTC Moon.

"We see these things manifest themselves in the U.S. equities market, through increasing demand for companies specifically listed on Nasdaq from geographies outside of the U.S., much more now than in the past," Mack said. "If you think of those investors around the world, they want to access this huge market on their own terms, and they want to do it in their own time zones."

Trading hours on major U.S. exchanges date back more than a century, when trades were executed in person on exchange floors. Despite the shift to electronic trading, those hours have remained mainly unchanged.

Earlier this year, Nasdaq also filed with regulators to allow trading in tokenized stocks, seeking to capitalize on growing interest in digital assets amid easing crypto regulations under the Trump administration.

"When there's market stress and volatility, the traffic in the market and the activity levels pick up significantly. We have built extremely resilient systems, have a lot of throughput, and have the ability to handle those types of situations," Mack said.