Last week, Bruce Markets announced plans to extend U.S. equity trading through the weekend, paving the way for continuous 24/7 market access, subject to regulatory review. The initiative is backed by new strategic investments from PEAK6 Investments and Robinhood Markets, with Nasdaq providing trading technology and Apex Clearing Corporation handling clearing, carrying and custody services. Bruce Markets expects the weekend session to launch in the coming months. In an interview with Traders Magazine, Jason Wallach, CEO of Bruce Markets, discusses how weekend liquidity could develop, the challenges of supporting continuous trading and how seven-day markets could change price discovery and investors’ response to major news events.

How do you expect weekend liquidity to develop, particularly in the early stages?

We expect liquidity to develop organically on Bruce Markets’ platform as brokers bring customers into the session and market makers compete for that flow. Overnight trading has demonstrated how participation can grow as access and infrastructure improve, but the weekend market will establish its own patterns. Early on, we’ll be watching spreads, fill rates and pricing visibility alongside volume – those are the factors that drive engagement. Several institutional market makers will be live at launch, and access will be open to all brokers, in addition to Robinhood.

What will broader adoption of seven-day trading require from market participants?

Firms need to determine where weekend access fits into their broader investment strategy and prepare the infrastructure to support it based on their client needs. That includes market data, routing, risk controls and order management systems that can accommodate the additional hours. Staffing, supervision and vendor support also need to be accounted for, and extending the same team’s responsibilities across another two days is likely not a workable operating model. Each firm will ultimately make its own participation decisions, but weekend readiness will continue to become increasingly relevant to execution capability and client service as liquidity and price discovery develop.

How could seven-day trading change the way markets respond to major news events?

Market-moving news can break at any time, and its impact on investors doesn’t wait for Monday’s open. Seven-day trading would give investors the option to adjust a position as news develops and track price discovery to continue through the weekend. That could spread the market’s response over a longer period, although it would not eliminate volatility. Weekend prices will reflect the information and liquidity available at that moment, making reliable market data and appropriate controls essential in helping investors to assess those conditions and decide when to act.

What makes weekend trading fundamentally different from the existing overnight market?

Overnight trading already gives investors, particularly in Asia, access to U.S. equities during their local business day. Currently Bruce Markets’ weekend trading closes a much longer gap between trading weeks. Our planned session would run continuously for 56 hours, from 8 p.m. ET Friday through 4 a.m. ET Monday, while settlement remains tied to the business-day calendar. Trades executed in this timeframe will have a trade date of Monday and will settle T+1 on Tuesday. If Monday is a market holiday, then the trade date will be Tuesday and settlement will occur on Wednesday. Additionally, NSCC’s trade capture platform is operational on a 24×5 basis, and any trades executed outside of those hours are submitted upon their reopening.

What are the biggest market-structure and operational challenges to moving U.S. equities to 24/7 trading?

The biggest challenge is ensuring the full trading lifecycle can support continuous access. Market data and routing need to keep pace with where liquidity is available, alongside effective price protections, surveillance and corporate-action handling. Firms also need reliable post-trade processes and plans for maintenance and incident response throughout the weekend. Our approach builds on Bruce Markets’ experience operating the overnight market, with additional trading technology from Nasdaq and clearing services from Apex Clearing Corporation. Those capabilities need to work together consistently throughout the session.

What still needs to happen before launch, and what will determine how quickly weekend trading gains traction?

Developing Bruce Markets’ weekend trading is going to be a continuous process as more participants upgrade their trading strategy to seven-days-a-week. The process includes testing technology and participant connectivity and making preparations across clearing, market data and operational support. We’re offering test sessions to help participants prepare. If the required regulatory process or operational readiness takes longer, the timing would need to reflect that, as the goal is a dependable weekend market that participants can use safely and securely. We’re intent on delivering a weekend trading experience that meets the same standard as our weekday overnight offering, giving participants the reliability and resilience they need to trade with confidence. Once live, traction will depend on brokers enabling access, liquidity providers participating and investors finding the session useful. Sustained adoption across the ecosystem will come from consistently delivering reliable access and quality execution.