Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Nasdaq has agreed to acquire Level Markets this week, adding an off-exchange venue to its market-infrastructure stack.
Why it matters: Exchanges need enough liquidity and execution capacity to handle orders during expanded market sessions as Wall Street pushes toward around-the-clock stock trading.
Context: Level operates a broker-neutral institutional equity trading venue designed to minimize market impact and information leakage.
- The company was formed in 2006 as a joint venture among Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Fidelity Capital Markets, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch
- Nasdaq bought a significant minority stake in 2021, though terms were undisclosed.
The big picture: Nasdaq is preparing to operate 23 hours a day, five days a week, pending regulatory approval and industry readiness.
- NYSE Arca received SEC approval for a 23-hour weekday session and is targeting a 2026 launch.
- Robinhood and Webull already offer 24/5 trading in select stocks and ETFs through overnight alternative trading systems.
The bottom line: The race to extend market hours is becoming a race to own the infrastructure behind them.
