LSE to Launch Night-Time Trading Venue in 2027

The London Stock Exchange has confirmed plans to launch a separate night-time trading venue in the first half of 2027, according to a report by the Financial Times. The main exchange will retain its standard hours of 8am to 4:30pm, while the new venue will operate from 5pm to 7:50am, with a 30-minute pause between 6:30pm and 7pm for end-of-day processing. Initially, the venue will offer exchange-traded products tracking UK and US markets, rather than individual shares.

LSE chief executive Julia Hoggett told the FT the exchange has "always been a facilitator of both domestic and global flow," citing demand from retail investors worldwide, particularly in Asia, to trade through London's time zone for access to UK and global assets. The move follows expanded round-the-clock stock trading by crypto platforms such as Coinbase and Kraken, which have attracted younger retail investors accustomed to trading on their own schedules.

Finance Magnates has previously reported that LSEG's exploration of 24-hour trading mirrors similar efforts by Nasdaq, the NYSE, and Cboe Global Markets in the US, all pursuing extended-hours trading subject to regulatory approval. The SEC has already cleared extended-hours trading on the 24X National Exchange. Equities trading made up just 2.7% of LSEG's total revenue in the first quarter of last year, with most income derived from selling financial data to banks and brokers. The push coincides with a prolonged UK listings drought; London raised £74.7 million from new listings in the first quarter of last year, compared with £8.9 billion in the US.

eToro vice-president of development strategy Elad Lavi told the FT that retail customers want "24/5, soon to be 24/7" access, adding that crypto has shaped expectations for immediate reaction to breaking news. Institutional investors remain more ambivalent. The World Federation of Exchanges said last year that overseas institutional investors wanted extended access "to a lesser extent" than Asia-Pacific retail investors, adding that extended trading is "not appropriate or desirable in all contexts." The Federation of European Securities Exchanges said it remains to be seen whether such models are sustainable long term.

Hoggett told the FT that retail demand is driving the current move but expects institutional interest to grow over time. The LSE plans to eventually extend trading to more than 2,600 exchange-traded products. Simon McQuoid-Mason, the LSE's head of new product and market structure for equities, told the FT that starting with ETPs avoids timing and regulatory complexities tied to individual stocks, and that agentic AI trading tools would be built into the new venue.