Cboe plans to allow options trading on 24 of the most actively traded U.S. companies and five ETFs outside the regular session, adding a pre-open window from 7:30 to 9:25 a.m. ET and a brief post-close window from 4:00 to 4:15 p.m. ET.
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According to a CNBC report, Cboe will offer options trading on 24 of the most actively traded U.S. companies alongside five exchange-traded funds during two windows outside the standard session: 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET. The scope is deliberately narrow, limited to a defined list of heavily traded names rather than the full universe of listed options. The pre-open window ends five minutes before the 9:30 a.m. ET opening bell, while the afternoon window runs for 15 minutes after the 4:00 p.m. ET close. That design places both windows immediately adjacent to the moments when the underlying shares are themselves transitioning into or out of continuous trading.
U.S. listed options on single stocks and ETFs have traditionally traded only during the same hours as the cash equity market, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. The underlying shares, by contrast, have long been accessible to retail and institutional investors outside those hours through pre-market and after-hours equity sessions offered by brokers. That mismatch has meant that when news lands before the open or after the close, the shares can move while the associated options cannot. Cboe's plan narrows that gap for a selected group of the most liquid tickers.
The two windows bracket the points in the trading day when corporate disclosures most often land, since many U.S. companies report quarterly results either before the opening bell or after the close. For market participants holding or managing exposure to those 24 companies and five ETFs, the change creates a mechanism to adjust or offset positions while the news is still fresh, rather than waiting for the next regular session. Whether that mechanism functions smoothly depends on participation, since extended-hours venues generally draw fewer market makers and less order flow than the main session. The practical effect for any individual user therefore depends on the depth available in each specific contract during those minutes.
The move fits a broader, multi-year evolution in U.S. market structure, in which exchanges, brokers and trading venues have progressively stretched the hours during which investors can transact. Equity trading in particular has expanded into overnight and early-morning sessions on several venues, and the question of how far derivatives markets should follow has been an active topic among exchanges and regulators. Cboe's approach here is incremental rather than wholesale: two short windows, a limited roster of names, and boundaries that still leave most of the trading day governed by existing rules. The report did not specify which 24 companies or five ETFs are included, nor a start date for the expanded hours.
The report states that Cboe will cover 24 of the most actively traded U.S. companies and five exchange-traded funds. The specific tickers were not disclosed in the initial report, and Cboe has not published a full roster. Because the expansion applies to a defined subset rather than all listed options, most contracts will continue to trade only during the regular session.
Trading would be available from 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET, which ends five minutes before the U.S. equity market opens, and from 4:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET, immediately after the close. The two windows add roughly two hours of potential access around the standard session. They do not create continuous round-the-clock options trading.
U.S. listed options on individual stocks and ETFs have historically traded during the same 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET window as the underlying shares. Pre-market and after-hours equity trading has been widely available for years, but the derivatives tied to those shares generally have not followed. This plan extends options access into periods where the underlying stock can already be traded.
What Cboe Announced
A Break With the Standard Options Session
Why the Timing Windows Matter
Part of a Wider Shift Toward Longer Trading Days
This article is rewritten from public news sources and further processed by AI. It is provided for information only and does not constitute investment advice — refer to the original source for the authoritative version.
Many U.S. companies release quarterly earnings either before the opening bell or after the close, so share prices can react when options are unavailable. Extended windows give holders of those names a way to respond to information during the same period the stock is moving. The counterpart is that extended-hours markets typically involve fewer participants, which can affect how easily orders are filled.
No. The plan covers two bounded windows adjacent to the regular session and applies to a limited set of heavily traded names. It is a targeted extension rather than a shift to continuous trading. The report also did not include a launch date for the expanded schedule.
