Nasdaq Trading Hours in Australia: What Changes With 23/5 Trading

For as long as Australians have followed the Nasdaq, it has meant late nights. That changes in December. On 28 October Derek Whitaker ran a live online session, Wall Street Never Sleeps, on what the move to 23-hour trading changes, what time each session runs in Perth and Sydney, and what traders are watching before it starts.

In this session (18 chapters)

1. 00:00Wall Street Never Sleeps: what's changing
2. 04:54What is the Nasdaq?
3. 10:25The 20% overnight price band
4. 18:29Tokenised shares and where this is heading
5. 20:47Will options follow?
6. 21:08Viewer question: the midterms and the US dollar
7. 23:43Robinhood's CEO on tokenisation
8. 27:2810 things I wish I knew before my first options trade
9. 49:15Viewer question: gold, silver and oil
10. 51:51Oil: why Washington wants it lower
11. 56:55The ten things in one minute
12. 58:13Where options came from: 1973
13. 1:04:43Leverage: the farm and the golf course
14. 1:10:51A wealth transfer is taking place
15. 1:15:41How the 201 programme works
16. 1:21:06Two doors: your next step
17. 1:21:33A student's trade pays for her flight home
18. 1:22:00Chase the volatility down

What are the Nasdaq trading hours in Australia?

From 7 December 2026, while the US is on winter time:

1. Overnight session: 10am to 5pm Perth (AWST) · 1pm to 8pm Sydney (AEDT)
2. Day session, including pre- and post-market: 5pm to 9am Perth · 8pm to noon Sydney
3. Regular US hours (9:30am to 4pm New York): 10:30pm to 5am Perth · 1:30am to 8am Sydney
4. Daily pause: 9am to 10am Perth · noon to 1pm Sydney

The trading week opens at 10am Monday in Perth (1pm in Sydney). It closes at 9am Saturday in Perth (noon in Sydney).

Perth has no daylight saving, so Perth times only move when the US changes its clocks, in March and November. Sydney's times move twice a year. Check the season before relying on a time.

What time does the Nasdaq open in Perth?

Regular trading on the Nasdaq still opens at 9:30am New York time. That's 10:30pm in Perth from December, and 9:30pm once the US moves to summer time in March. What's new is the overnight session, which puts US shares on screen from 10am Perth time. As Derek put it on the night:

"You go through to 10am to 5pm Perth time. The new overnight session, our office hours kicks in."

When does Nasdaq 23/5 (24-hour) trading start?

Sunday 6 December 2026, 9pm New York time, which is Monday morning, 7 December, in Australia. It's often called "24-hour trading". In fact it's 23 hours, because the market stops for one hour each day.

What is the 20% overnight price band?

Overnight, every stock gets a reference price, fixed for the whole night. It can only trade within 20% either side of that price. On a $100 stock, that's anywhere between $80 and $120 all night. Only limit orders are accepted, so no one can send an order that takes whatever price is on offer.

"More hours doesn't mean the same market, but there's going to be limit orders only. So you can't do what we call a market order."

The band is there to stop wild prices in a thin market: "They're trying to avoid absurd prices in the thin market," as Derek explained. But it limits how far a price can move, not how much a position can lose. In his words, it stops "not big losses. So a 19.9% fall overnight, still allowable."

Why the overnight session worries traders who use stop losses

A stop loss sells when a price falls through a set level. It works only if the market trades at that level on the way down. When a price gaps, it doesn't.

"Let's say it finishes at $100 and then goes and it opens at $80, a stop loss is useless in that situation. And so it's changing our perspective on stop losses."

A stop limit has the opposite problem: if the price jumps past it, it may never fill.

Will options trade 23 hours a day?

Not yet. Stock options have no overnight session, and no exchange has committed to one. The options clearing house (OCC) approved a framework for extra sessions on 23 September 2026. Cboe's first extended sessions began on 19 October, covering 24 stocks and 5 ETFs, but only before the open and after the close.

"Stock options don't trade in this session, or at least not yet. And positions can only be adjusted when they open."

Derek called that "really a concern, particularly for those who are selling options." An options trader in Perth could watch the underlying stock move all afternoon and be unable to adjust the position until New York opens.

Can Australians trade the Nasdaq overnight session?

That depends on the broker. Some connect directly to the exchanges. Others route orders through a third party that may not offer the overnight session at launch. The practical step is to ask the broker directly before December.

Why is this happening?

"Markets are competing for global money around the clock. And the 23-hour day is one stage of that change."

For more on what the shift means for Australians, from the trades to super to the night overnight trading broke in 2024, see Wall Street Never Sleeps: 23-Hour Trading Comes to Australia's Working Day.

Three questions to ask before 7 December

1. Does the broker offer the overnight session, and does it reach the exchange directly?
2. Which orders are market orders or stop losses, and how would they behave in a gap?
3. For anyone holding options: what is the plan for a stock that moves while the position can't be adjusted?

General information only, not personal financial advice. Trading carries risk, including the risk of loss.

Education only. Nothing here is personal financial, tax or legal advice.