Key Notes
- Cboe plans an October 19 launch covering 24 companies across 25 stock symbols, plus five major ETFs.
- Morning options trading will run from 7:30 to 9:25 AM ET, with an additional 15-minute afternoon session for eligible single-stock options.
- Broker support and limit orders will be required, while the launch schedule remains subject to regulatory review.
Cboe Global Markets (CBOE: CBOE) plans to expand options trading hours on Monday, October 19, giving investors earlier access to contracts on 24 companies and five exchange-traded funds.
The exchange’s latest schedule lists 25 single-stock symbols, including both Alphabet share classes, alongside SPY, QQQ, IWM, GLD and XLF. The new sessions will run electronically on Cboe Options Exchange, known as C1.
The change extends the window for responding to earnings and economic news outside the main U.S. session. It is a targeted expansion rather than round-the-clock trading, and Cboe’s notice continues to mark the launch timetable as subject to regulatory review.
Options Trading Begins Two Hours Earlier
The morning Global Trading Hours session is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. Eastern Time. Orders can begin queuing at 7:15 a.m., with regular trading starting at 9:30 a.m.
Eligible single-stock options will also have a 15-minute Curb session from 4:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET. ETF options that already trade until 4:15 p.m. will continue to do so within their regular session, without a separate afternoon Curb period.
That distinction matters for the five ETFs: their main new access window is before the opening bell. The plan does not create a continuous overnight market for every stock option or extend trading across weekends.
The date also supersedes earlier launch targets. Cboe’s May announcement outlined a July start, while the current operational schedule points to October 19. Investors should use the latest exchange notice when checking availability.
Apple, Nvidia and SpaceX Join the Launch List
The roster includes Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), together with Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet. Alphabet’s GOOG and GOOGL symbols account for the difference between 24 companies and 25 stock-option classes.
The remaining symbols are AMD, AVGO, BABA, BAC, F, HOOD, INTC, MRVL, MU, NFLX, NOK, ORCL, PFE, PLTR, SNDK, SPCX and TSM. The list concentrates the rollout in widely followed technology names while also including banking, autos and pharmaceuticals.
The five ETF symbols provide exposure to broad U.S. stocks, the Nasdaq-100, small-cap stocks, gold and financial companies. Their inclusion gives traders instruments for managing portfolio exposure alongside individual-company positions.
Access Depends on Broker Support and Order Settings
Cboe’s FAQ says only limit orders will be accepted during the new extended sessions. Market, stop and stop-limit orders are excluded, making the price specified by the investor central to execution.
Orders designated for all sessions can carry across the morning, regular and Curb periods. Regular-session-only orders remain inactive outside normal hours, so an existing order does not automatically become an extended-hours instruction.
Trading firms need authorization from both Cboe and the Options Clearing Corporation to participate in morning GTH trading. Firms already approved for that session do not need a further authorization for equity options.
Customers therefore need their broker to support the service as well as the contract to be eligible. Exchange availability alone does not establish that every retail account will receive access at launch. The physical trading floor remains open only during regular hours.
A Narrower Gap Between Stocks and Their Options
The rationale is set out in the earlier SEC filing: shares already trade outside the regular session, while access to their options has been more restricted. An investor can consequently face a changing stock price without the same opportunity to adjust an options position.
The new morning window overlaps with important U.S. economic releases. A 15-minute post-close session also offers limited additional time around corporate announcements, although it will not cover earnings news released later in the evening.
The filing describes a framework allowing Cboe to select up to 100 qualifying classes. Its criteria focus on options volume, the underlying company’s market value and trading activity over the preceding six months, with semiannual reviews.
Longer hours do not guarantee regular-session liquidity. The filing acknowledges that trading in underlying shares may be thinner during the new morning session, potentially requiring greater intervention from market makers. Execution quality and participation will matter alongside the hours themselves.
Cboe Broadens Access Across Its Derivatives Business
The initiative complements Cboe’s existing extended sessions for proprietary index options. In May, the company said combined GTH and Curb volume had risen 32% in the first quarter from a year earlier, helped partly by Asia-Pacific demand.
Cboe has also proposed near-24-hour weekday trading in U.S. shares on its EDGX equities exchange. That is a separate stock-market initiative, with its own approval and readiness requirements, rather than the timetable for Monday’s options expansion.
The company recently extended its exclusive S&P 500 index-options licensing agreement through 2051, as we previously reported. The licensing deal supports its proprietary index franchise; the new hours concern selected multi-listed stock and ETF options.
For the October rollout, the immediate tests are operational readiness, broker access and sustained trading activity. The schedule expands when investors can manage positions, while the scale of the commercial benefit will depend on how much customers actually use the additional sessions.
