UTP Plan Participants Propose Extended Global Trading Hours

Participants to the UTP Plan, which include Nasdaq and other U.S. national securities exchanges, proposed extending the Processor’s operating hours to support near-continuous trading sessions.

According to the amendment to the UTP Plan, the participants seek to expand the Processor’s capacity to receive and disseminate Quotation Information and Transaction Reports from 9:00 p.m. ET Sunday through 8:00 p.m. ET Friday. To accommodate technical refreshes for the Processor and market participants, the proposal includes a daily operational pause from 8:00 p.m. ET to 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday through Thursday. The participants noted that this structured pause avoids the complexity and cost of building duplicate systems required for a true 24-hour continuous cycle.

The proposal establishes that a "trade date" will officially commence at 8:00 p.m. ET on the day prior to regular trading hours. Consistent with current practices, transactions executed outside of Regular Trading Hours (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET) will be designated with "T" modifiers. These transactions will count toward total trade volume for revenue distribution purposes but will be excluded from the calculation of the daily high, low, or last sale.

Regarding costs, the participants agreed that only those exchanges utilizing the extended hours will bear the associated development and operating expenses. Late adopters would be required to pay a proportionate share of development costs upon joining the extended session.

If approved by the Commission, the Operating Committee anticipates implementation in December 2026, contingent upon market conditions such as DTCC readiness to support extended clearing hours.