Nasdaq plans to introduce its 23 hours a day, 5 days a week global trading session beginning December 6, 2026, expanding access to U.S. equities for investors across different time zones.
For management and IR teams, the headline is reassuring. Nasdaq is extending market access, not issuer obligations. Disclosure, governance and staffing requirements will remain broadly unchanged. Companies shouldn’t need to overhaul their existing IR processes. The main challenge will be keeping overnight trading activity in context, particularly for smaller companies where liquidity may already be more limited.
What is Changing
- Overnight trading will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET, following a daily maintenance period between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET, and will continue through the existing US trading sessions.
- Nasdaq expects overnight participation to build gradually, led initially by retail and international investors. Approximately 91% of Nasdaq trading currently takes place during regular market hours, between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET, so liquidity is expected to remain concentrated in the core session, at least initially.
- The extended session will include safeguards designed for an environment where liquidity and price discovery may be less robust. These include restrictions on market and pegging orders, participant risk limits and trading price bands.
- Nasdaq will use the 4:00 p.m. official close and the 7:45 p.m. last sale as reference prices, applying a 20% band to set the upper and lower limits for overnight trading.
What Remains Unchanged For Issuers
- The issuer disclosure window will remain 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. Disclosure standards, governance requirements and required notice periods are also unchanged. Companies can continue to release earnings before the market opens or after it closes, following their existing processes.
- IR teams don’t need to introduce routine overnight monitoring or additional staffing simply because trading hours are expanding. Nasdaq MarketWatch will extend its own staffing and surveillance to cover the full 23-hour session, monitoring unusual trading activity, time sensitive issues and potential compliance issues, and coordinating with issuers where necessary.
- Certain corporate actions that could materially affect a security’s fair value may remain halted until 8:00 a.m. ET on the effective date. Nasdaq has identified stock splits, large dividends, spin offs, security type changes and merger events among the examples. This gives the market additional time to absorb the information before trading resumes.
The Elevate IR Perspective
For issuers, this is a very manageable change. Existing earnings, disclosure and governance processes remain appropriate, while the extended session has the potential to increase access for retail and international investors over time.
We don’t believe IR teams should rush into significant changes or introduce overnight coverage. However, the planned launch provides a good opportunity to confirm that existing processes are ready for 23-5 trading.
We recommend that issuers:
- Confirm escalation procedures. Make sure the appropriate members of management, legal counsel and the IR team can be reached if Nasdaq identifies unusual activity.
- Review MarketWatch contacts. Check that contact information is current and that the relevant team members understand when to coordinate with MarketWatch.
- Plan ahead for complex corporate actions. Companies considering a stock split, significant dividend, spin off, merger or similar event should factor the potential for an extended halt into their communications planning.
- Avoid overreacting to overnight price movements. Lower trading volumes may bring greater share price volatility. Before responding, IR teams should consider whether the movement relates to company news, market rumors or broader market activity.
It may also be helpful to brief senior management and the board on what is changing and, importantly, what is not.
Nasdaq’s 23-5 trading session represents another step toward a more accessible global market. For IR teams, the core responsibility remains the same: communicate material information clearly, consistently and through established disclosure channels.
How Elevate IR Can Help
Elevate IR helps public companies understand market structure developments and translate them into practical investor relations and disclosure processes. Please reach out to our team at info@elevate-ir.com or connect with Lois directly at lois@elevate-ir.com to discuss Nasdaq’s planned 23-5 trading session or how Elevate IR can support your broader investor relations goals.
The Author
Lois Perkins, Director – Elevate IR
Lois has a finance background with 12 years in IR, across in-house and consulting roles, advising PE-backed and listed companies. Her work spans earnings preparation, investor days and outreach, debt transactions, and crisis communications. Previously, Lois held senior roles at SugarCRM, Porch Group, Equitory and The Ardonagh Group and is currently a Board Member of STEMblazers.
