Major U.S. stock exchanges are moving toward 24/7 trading to eliminate after-hours price manipulation and reduce the influence of intermediaries who currently exploit thin liquidity during market closures.

Key Points

• The NYSE, Nasdaq, CME, and Cboe are actively pursuing or expanding round-the-clock trading capabilities to modernize market access.
• Critics argue that current after-hours sessions allow brokers to manipulate prices and trigger client stop-losses due to low liquidity and wider spreads.
• Academic research and regulatory bodies, including the SEC and FINRA, have identified risks of spoofing and layering in thinly traded, off-hours markets.
• Retail investors are currently sidelined during market closures, leaving them unable to react to breaking news until the next opening bell.
• Decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid are already seeing high volume in 24/7 derivatives, signaling strong demand for continuous trading of traditional assets.

Why it Matters

The transition to 24/7 markets represents a fundamental shift in power from traditional brokerage intermediaries to individual traders by removing the "weekend vacuum" where price discovery is often distorted. This evolution aims to increase market efficiency and transparency, potentially forcing a restructuring of the business models that have historically relied on restricted trading hours.