Nasdaq MRX has proposed limited extended-hours trading for certain index and equity options. The proposal is not approved and is not live.
On May 12, 2026, the SEC designated a longer period to act on MRX’s proposed rule change (SR-MRX-2026-11). The extension moved the deadline for approval, disapproval, or instituting proceedings to June 29, 2026. The extension notice also stated that the SEC had received no comment letters as of that notice.
This article is not financial advice, investment advice, or trading advice. Options trading involves risk and is not suitable for all investors.
What Happened
MRX filed SR-MRX-2026-11 on March 19, 2026. The SEC published the filing for comment on March 31, 2026, starting the review clock.
The May 2026 SEC notice is procedural: it extends the review timeline. It does not approve the proposal, and it does not mean extended-hours options trading on MRX is already available.
What MRX Is Proposing (And What It Is Not)
The proposal is often misread as “24-hour options.” It is much narrower.
MRX proposes two added trading windows:
- Early extended-hours session: 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET
- Extended close: 4:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET
For index options, MRX identifies NDX, NDPX, and XND as eligible products.
For equity options, MRX would initially cap eligibility at up to 100 multi-listed, very liquid classes and apply quantitative thresholds, including option average daily volume of 150,000 contracts, underlying market cap of $50 billion, and underlying share average daily volume of 10 million.
How Execution Could Differ From Regular-Hours Options Trading
Even if approved, this would likely behave more like an adjustment window than a seamless continuation of regular-hours liquidity. MRX’s proposed mechanics point in that direction:
- No market orders during extended hours.
- No routable orders (meaning less “help” finding liquidity elsewhere).
- No GTC/GTD persistence; orders would not sit across sessions the same way.
- Early-session quotes would be purged when the session ends, and MRX would restart the normal opening process at 9:26 a.m. ET after a one-minute transition.
The exchange also warns that extended-hours trading can involve lower liquidity, higher volatility, and wider spreads. Practically, that means fill quality and order discipline matter more than usual.
Index Options Versus Equity Options: The Key Risk Split
The index side of the proposal has an important price-discovery constraint: for the underlying indexes, MRX proposes that it will not disseminate an updated index value during extended hours. Members would have the prior trading day’s closing value. That is a meaningful limitation if you are trying to infer “fair value” or interpret implied volatility inputs in thin sessions.
The equity side of the proposal is different. The key risks are less about a stale index print and more about assignment/exercise mechanics and expiration-day timing, because equity options are generally American-style.
MRX also highlights an expiration detail that matters for traders who manage risk late in the day:
- P.M.-settled index options would not be available in the 4:00-4:15 p.m. extended close on their expiration date.
- Equity options would remain available through the extended close on expiration day.
Why This Matters For Options Traders
Extended-hours options trading is a market-structure story before it is a volatility story.
If the rule is approved and implemented, the main change for self-directed traders is not “more opportunity.” It is that some products may have new repricing windows around information releases that hit before 9:30 a.m. or just after 4:00 p.m., in markets that are likely to be thinner and more execution-sensitive.
That has a few practical implications:
- Treat pre-open and post-close options quotes as session-specific; do not assume they carry the same information quality as regular-hours quotes.
- Use limit orders and expect wider spreads and more variable fills.
- Be careful using thin-session midpoints to estimate implied volatility, skew, or an “expected move.” The site’s implied volatility guide is a good refresher on what IV is (and is not).
- Separate “extended hours exists” from “directional edge exists.” Thin-session prints can reflect sparse liquidity and hedging pressure, not a reliable forecast.
What Traders May Misunderstand
Misunderstanding #1: “The SEC extension means approval.”
No. The filing is still pending, and the SEC’s action is a timeline extension.
Misunderstanding #2: “This is 24-hour options trading.”
No. The proposal is two short windows: 7:30-9:25 a.m. ET and 4:00-4:15 p.m. ET.
Misunderstanding #3: “It will include most single-stock options.”
No. MRX’s equity eligibility is limited to a small set of very liquid classes that meet strict thresholds.
Misunderstanding #4: “Extended-hours prices show the true fair value.”
Not necessarily. Thin markets can be noisier, and for the proposed index products MRX would not disseminate an updated official index value during extended hours.
Related OptionsTrading.Zone Reading
- Covered call and cash-secured put: assignment and expiration-day mechanics matter more than headlines.
- Long straddle and long strangle: helpful frameworks for understanding how options can price magnitude around events (not a trade recommendation).
- Implied volatility (IV) guide: how to interpret IV when quotes are thin.
Sources
- SEC extension notice in the Federal Register (designated a longer period; June 29, 2026 deadline):
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/15/2026-09735/self-regulatory-organizations-nasdaq-mrx-llc-notice-of-designation-of-a-longer-period-for-commission - Justia mirror of the same Federal Register notice:
https://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2026/05/15/2026-09735.html - SEC notice of filing for SR-MRX-2026-11 (proposal mechanics and constraints):
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/31/2026-06153/self-regulatory-organizations-nasdaq-mrx-llc-notice-of-filing-of-a-proposed-rule-change-to-adopt - Nasdaq options market-hours page (context on existing 4:15 p.m. products):
https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=optionshours - Cboe U.S. options hours page (cross-venue extended-hours context):
https://www.cboe.com/about/hours/us-options/ - OCC white paper on continuous trading (liquidity and price-discovery considerations):
https://www.theocc.com/getContentAsset/a0af3374-e838-484e-a09e-969a8f34bee9/dfc3d011-8f63-43f6-9ed8-4b444333a1d0/occ-considerations-continuous-trading-final.pdf - OCC summary of key clearing-member requirements (operational/capital considerations):
https://www.theocc.com/getContentAsset/142a0b3b-59e0-4000-a245-0ec9cc610078/dfc3d011-8f63-43f6-9ed8-4b444333a1d0/summary_of_key_clearing_member_requirements.pdf - OCC equity-options product specs and disclosure booklet (exercise/assignment mechanics background):
https://www.theocc.com/clearance-and-settlement/clearing/equity-options-product-specificationsandhttps://www.theocc.com/getContentAsset/a151a9ae-d784-4a15-bdeb-23a029f50b70/dfc3d011-8f63-43f6-9ed8-4b444333a1d0/riskstoc.pdf
Bottom Line
The SEC’s extension is a reminder that MRX’s extended-hours options proposal is still in the review process. If it is approved and implemented, the important trader-facing details are the constraints: narrow sessions, limited product eligibility, no market orders, no routing, and (for the index products) no updated official index value during extended hours.
For OptionsTrading.Zone readers, the core lesson is simple: in extended-hours options, execution quality and reference-price quality become part of the risk.
