The Stock Market Is Going 24 Hours, 7 Days a Week
The stock market’s traditional 9:30-to-4 workday, marked by opening and closing bells dating back to the 1870s, is becoming outdated. This shift towards round-the-clock trading marks the most significant alteration in market structure since electronic trading replaced the physical trading floor.
Wall Street is rapidly adopting the always-on model seen in cryptocurrency and prediction markets to cater to a new generation of retail traders who favor continuous market access.
Extended Trading Hours on Major Exchanges
- Exchanges like the NYSE and Nasdaq are working to expand trading hours to 22 and 24 hours respectively.
- Some platforms aim to implement these extended hours before the end of the year.
Driving Factors Behind the Change
The transformation is largely fueled by increasing retail investor activity, which now accounts for at least 20% of daily U.S. trading volume. Additionally, the global demand for American equities worth trillions supports this move.
A version of this article originally appeared in Quartz’s members-only Weekend Brief newsletter.
"The shift — driven by surging retail investor participation that now accounts for at least 20% of daily U.S. trading volume and a global appetite for the trillions of American equities — represents the most fundamental change to market structure since electronic trading replaced the trading floor."
Author’s summary: The stock market is evolving from the historic 9:30-to-4 schedule to continuous trading, driven by rising retail investors and global demand for U.S. equities.