CMC Markets 24/5 trading now covers more than 5,000 US shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), up from around 250 instruments, the FTSE 250 broker announced on 15 July 2026. The expansion also adds extended-hours dealing for users of CMC Invest, its stockbroking platform, stretching the available US trading day from 6.5 hours to as much as 16 hours.
There is a condition attached. The longer window applies only where overnight pricing is available, and CMC has not disclosed how many of the 5,000-plus instruments clear that bar. Investors using CMC Invest should check individual stocks and ETFs before assuming round-the-clock access.
What CMC Markets 24/5 Trading Actually Covers
The two services work differently. On CMC’s trading platform, 24/5 dealing runs through contracts for difference (CFDs), which are derivative products that track an underlying price without the investor owning the share directly. On CMC Invest, clients deal in the underlying shares themselves during extended hours.
Vaughn Affonso, co-head of dealing at CMC Markets, said the move responds to company announcements and economic data that land outside the regular New York session, adding that ‘expanding our trading hours gives clients more opportunity to react when markets move.’
Laurence Booth, global head of markets at CMC Markets, framed the change as simplification, saying that ‘expanding 24/5 access is an important step in that journey.’ The company’s own press release described the expansion as reflecting ‘the direction of travel for CMC Markets as we continue to evolve our multi-asset offering.’
CMC gave no figures on how many clients currently use the overnight service or what share of its volume falls outside regular hours. The 24/5 window stops at weekends, though CMC has separately offered weekend gold CFDs for traders wanting to adjust positions before the Monday open.
How CMC Stacks Up Against Rivals Chasing the Same Window
Extended US trading hours have become a standard competitive talking point, though brokers have approached it differently. Interactive Brokers offers overnight trading across more than 10,000 US stocks and ETFs, plus US Treasuries, European government bonds, and UK gilts, all in the underlying securities. Robinhood built a 24-hour market running from Sunday evening to Friday evening on real stocks. Charles Schwab has extended round-the-clock trading to all its clients.
CMC’s expansion through CMC Invest puts it on the real-share side of that divide, alongside those three, rather than limiting after-hours US exposure to derivatives.
New infrastructure is also being built for overnight demand. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 24X National Exchange, a venue designed specifically for extended-hours trading, though an SEC commissioner statement on the approval made clear that overnight trading at 24X may only begin once the Equity Data Plans are running concurrently. The SEC order on 24X defines extended hours as covering pre-market, post-market, and the 24X market session as separate components.
Nasdaq has pushed back on 24X’s timeline. In a comment letter submitted to the SEC in April 2026, Nasdaq argued that the Equity Data Plans are prepared to support on-exchange 23/5 trading by December 2026, and that changes of the scale 24X contemplates should go through Commission-established processes rather than exemptive relief granted to a single exchange.
What This Means for ISA and SIPP Holders
For ISA and SIPP investors using CMC Invest, the practical question is whether the stocks you actually hold qualify for the extended window. CMC’s caveat, that overnight pricing must be available for a given instrument, is the filter that matters. Blue-chip US names are more likely to clear it than smaller or less liquid stocks.
Extended hours also carry wider spreads (the gap between the buying and selling price) than during the regular session, when market makers compete more actively. CMC has not published data on its overnight spreads, so checking the live quote before placing an order outside regular hours is worth doing.
The update follows CMC’s recent addition of fractional investing to its platform, part of a broader push to bring the firm’s offering closer to the retail-first features that competitors have used to grow their client bases. The next test is whether the overnight pricing condition limits the effective universe enough to matter, something CMC’s own numbers, if and when it publishes them, will start to answer.
