London Stock Exchange will soon let you trade 24/7
What's the story
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is gearing up to launch a new trading venue, LSE 24, which will operate outside its normal market hours. The move is aimed at providing "near-continuous trading" and competing with the 24/7 trading offered by cryptocurrency platforms. The new venue will operate from 5:00pm to 7:50am in London, and client testing is expected by late-2026.
Market expansion
'Greater flexibility beyond traditional trading hours'
LSE 24 will provide clients with "greater flexibility beyond traditional trading hours," as well as enhanced liquidity and market participation, said Julia Hoggett, CEO of the LSE.
The new venue will operate separately from the main market, which will continue its normal operations.
Exchange-traded products (ETPs) are expected to be the first tradable assets on this platform in H1 2027.
Crypto competition
Competition with crypto platforms
The launch of LSE 24 comes as younger investors are drawn to the round-the-clock offerings from crypto companies like Coinbase.
The new venue will also have "the flexibility to expand into equities as the next step," according to a statement from the exchange.
This move is part of a wider trend among global exchanges extending their trading hours in response to demand.
Trading hours
Strategic timing for global asset exposure
The new LSE venue will operate from 5:00pm to 7:50am London time, with a half-hour break between 6:30pm and 7:00pm for end-of-day processes.
This strategic timing is intended to leverage London's timezone for global asset exposure.
Separately, NASDAQ plans to extend trading hours to 23 hours on weekdays in December, while CME introduced round-the-clock trading of crypto futures/options in late May.