Cboe gets SEC green light to trade single-stock options before and after the bell

Cboe Global Markets has secured Securities and Exchange Commission approval to offer extended trading hours for a select group of multi-listed equity options, pushing the derivatives giant closer to a round-the-clock trading model it has been building for years.

The Chicago-based exchange operator said its Cboe Options Exchange plans to launch the new sessions on July 13, pending SEC sign-off on a separate but related rule filing. The move introduces a pre-market window running from 7.30am to 9.25am ET and a post-market window from 4.00pm to 4.15pm ET, Monday through Friday.

At launch, roughly 20 names are expected to qualify, including all seven of the Magnificent 7 stocks such as Nvidia, Tesla, and Apple, alongside other heavily traded names such as Palantir, Broadcom, and AMD.

"Today's SEC approval marks an important milestone for the US options industry, as Cboe continues to take the lead in expanding market access to meet growing demand from investors globally," said Meaghan Dugan, Head of US Derivatives at Cboe. "By launching first with a select group of single-name options, we are deliberately taking a measured approach to help ensure market safeguards and investor protections remain in place.”

Dugan added that as the industry moves toward near-24x5 trading in equities, the development will also help better align options trading especially in the most high-demand names,  with their underlying securities, enabling investors to manage risk and seize opportunities more effectively in today's fast-moving markets."

Expanding the range

The initiative continues Cboe's broader push to capture international investor demand for access to US markets outside of standard session hours.

The exchange already offers near-24x5 trading through its Global Trading Hours and Curb Trading Hours sessions for proprietary index products, including S&P 500, VIX, Mini S&P 500, and Russell 2000 index options. Volume in those extended sessions hit record levels in the first quarter of 2026, rising 32% compared to the same period a year earlier, driven in part by appetite from Asia-Pacific clients.

The options approval is the latest piece of a larger market structure shift Cboe has been advancing on multiple fronts. As InvestmentNews reported in March, the exchange filed a separate SEC proposal to launch near-23x5 equities trading on its EDGX exchange, targeting a December 2026 debut contingent on regulatory approval and industry infrastructure readiness.

The practical case for extending single-stock options hours centers on the timing of market-moving information. Earnings releases, guidance updates, and major economic data points frequently land outside of the standard 9.30am to 4.00pm ET window, leaving options holders unable to act until the next regular session.

The post-market session in particular gives investors a 15-minute window after the close to respond to after-hours developments, which Cboe said could help reduce contra-exercise risk.

Eligibility requirements are designed to limit the extended sessions to only the most liquid names. To qualify, an equity option must carry an average daily volume of at least 150,000 contracts over the prior six months, while the underlying stock must have a market capitalization of at least $50 billion and average daily share volume of at least 10 million.

Cboe said it expects to refresh the eligible list twice a year; once based on second-half data and once on first-half data.