Rakuten Securities Extends US Stock Trading to 16 Hours With After-Market Session

Rakuten Securities announced on Monday it will extend US stock trading hours for its Japanese clients to up to 16 hours daily starting June 22. The new after-market session will allow customers to react to corporate earnings and news released after the US market closes.

The after-market window will run from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. Japan time during US daylight saving time, following the regular overnight session that ends at 5 a.m. This follows the broker's introduction of pre-market trading in January, which extended hours to 12, with the latest move pushing the maximum to 16.

According to the company, the new session will accept limit orders only and cover US stocks, American depositary receipts, and exchange-traded funds, excluding over-the-counter products. From June 14, the firm will also add IFD (if done) orders and trailing orders for US stocks, tools designed to help clients automate profit-taking or loss-cutting.

A points promotion for US stock trades, spot or margin, is scheduled to begin June 15, with details to be announced on the firm's website. This expansion is part of a broader strategy toward near-continuous US trading. Parent company Rakuten Securities Holdings invested in 24X US Holdings in May 2025, a fintech firm building toward 23-hour US equity trading.

The move reflects a wider industry race to extend US trading hours, driven largely by Asian demand. Nasdaq aims to offer 24-hour trading in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approval. Other major venues like the New York Stock Exchange's Arca platform and Cboe Global Markets' EDGX exchange have also announced plans for extended hours.

Rakuten has been aggressively promoting US equities to attract younger investors in Japan, where domestic equity commissions are now zero. The broker has also integrated AI research tools and recently offered bookbuilding for the SpaceX IPO. For now, its after-market session remains limited to specific order types and securities, with no timeline provided for achieving its 23-hour trading goal.