Key Highlights

  • NYSE American Options added early and late trading sessions on October 19, 2026.
  • The early session runs from 7:30 AM to 9:25 AM ET, and the late session from 4:00 PM to 4:15 PM ET.
  • Twenty-nine eligible stocks and Exchange-traded funds are covered at launch.
  • First-day Volume was muted, led by options tied to an upcoming Earnings report.
  • NYSE has said extended trading in equities will follow in December.

NEW YORK, October 19, 2026. The New York Stock Exchange, founded in 1792 and part of Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) since 2013, began extended trading hours for options listed on NYSE American on Monday. It is the second major US exchange to unveil longer options sessions within days. Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE) recently announced its own plan, covering 25 single stocks and five exchange-traded funds.

The new early session runs from 7:30 AM to 9:25 AM ET, and a late session runs from 4:00 PM to 4:15 PM ET. The regular session, which opens at 9:30 AM, is unchanged.

Which Options Are Included

Twenty-nine symbols qualify at launch. NYSE named the funds SPY, IWM and GLD in its announcement, and its fact sheet adds QQQ and XLF. Single-stock options include Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). Alphabet's two share classes are listed separately.

The five funds already traded until 4:15 PM under an existing exchange rule, so they stay in the regular session for that final quarter hour. For every eligible symbol, the early session is new.

How the Sessions Will Operate

Testing began on August 18, and test symbols went live in production on September 21 before the full list opened on Monday. On shortened trading days, the early session precedes the abbreviated regular session, and the late session runs for 15 minutes after it closes.

According to the fact sheet, only certain limit orders and market maker quotes are accepted. Stop, good-till-cancelled, complex and cross orders are not supported, and the trading floor does not operate open outcry in the early session. Market makers assigned to a class keep that appointment, but quoting in the extended sessions is voluntary. Firms must hold a letter of guarantee from a clearing member authorised by the Options Clearing Corporation and give customers risk disclosures before accepting orders.

Kevin Tyrrell, NYSE's chief product officer, described the launch as a response to Demand for Investment opportunities and risk management over a longer period. He said NYSE will keep treating "innovation as the foundation for growth."

A Quiet First Day

Trading in the first extended session was light. Market data showed Tesla options led activity, with a little over 3,000 contracts changing hands, almost all of them calls, worth less than 100,000 US dollars in total. Tesla is due to report earnings on Wednesday, and the volume was likely traders rolling existing positions.

Competition and What Comes Next

The launch follows rising demand for Derivatives and for access outside regular hours. Crypto markets introduced continuous trading, and prediction markets and perpetual futures now run on near round-the-clock schedules. Cboe data show extended-hours options activity recently reached a record, averaging more than 199,000 contracts a day.

NYSE has said it will bring the same approach to equities in December. Media reports say trading in the same names will stretch to 23 hours a day, five days a week from December 6, 2026, although NYSE's release does not give a date. Thinly quoted contracts may carry wider spreads outside regular hours, a cost participants will weigh against the chance to trade closer to the arrival of news.