SEC Sets September Roundtable on 24-Hour Equity Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on July 23 that it will host a public roundtable on September 17, 2026, focused on preparations for 24-hour trading in U.S. equity markets.

The SEC said the discussion will cover overnight trading, operations and resiliency in a 24-hour market, and the opportunities and challenges that come with expanding market hours. The event will be held at the SEC’s Washington, D.C. headquarters, streamed on SEC.gov, and recorded for later viewing.

The Commission also opened a public comment path under File Number 4-913. The release says members of the public may submit comments electronically or by paper, and that the roundtable agenda and speaker details will be posted before the event.

The announcement lands as exchanges, alternative trading systems, market makers, brokers, and clearing firms continue preparing for more overnight access to U.S. equities.

Why it matters

Round-the-clock equity trading would change more than session labels. Brokers need controls for order routing, best execution, customer disclosures, support coverage, margin monitoring, and incident response outside regular hours.

For retail traders, the key questions are liquidity, spreads, quote quality, and whether overnight prices reflect enough depth to support normal execution assumptions.

What to watch next

Watch the September agenda, submitted comments, and any follow-up SEC or exchange filings. The most important details will be how regulators frame customer protection, market-data availability, and clearing or settlement risks during overnight sessions.