Overview
- The SEC announced a public roundtable for Sept. 17 at its Washington headquarters that will be open and streamed and has opened a public comment file tied to the event under File Number 4-913.
- The agency said the discussion will focus on overnight preparations, system resilience, and investor protections as regulators test whether the market can safely run longer hours.
- Major exchanges including Nasdaq, Cboe, and the London Stock Exchange are preparing near‑continuous weekday trading plans, but those plans depend on SEC sign‑off and coordinated readiness across the industry.
- Officials and regulators say key operational hurdles include running consolidated market data for longer hours, clearing and settlement outside the traditional day, accurate trade reporting and corporate‑action processing, and ensuring market‑maker liquidity during thin sessions.
- Crypto platforms and tokenized equity products have increased demand for round‑the‑clock access, but tokenized offerings differ in custody and legal status and existing premarket and after‑hours sessions show that running a truly continuous national market will require major changes that could change execution quality for retail investors.