For traders, the market does not begin neatly at the opening bell—or end when the closing auction fades. Cboe Global Markets is expanding options access for 24 of the most actively traded companies and five ETFs, creating new windows for positioning around the news that moves markets before and after regular hours.

The change adds a morning session from 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. ET and an afternoon session from 4:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET. That may give traders a faster route to respond when earnings, economic data or geopolitical headlines arrive outside the standard session, while also introducing new questions about liquidity, volatility and price discovery.

As CNBC reports, the expanded schedule covers a selected group of heavily traded companies and five ETFs. The design is targeted rather than universal: Cboe is extending access where trading interest is already concentrated, instead of opening the additional windows across every listed option.

A longer runway for market-moving news

The practical appeal is straightforward. A company reporting earnings before the regular session could see options traders react during the 7:30 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. window, rather than waiting for the broader market to open. Likewise, a data release or geopolitical development arriving after 4:00 p.m. could prompt an options response during the additional afternoon session.

That extra time may make the options market more responsive to information arriving outside the traditional trading day. It could also change how traders manage exposure around known events. Instead of treating the opening bell or closing print as hard boundaries, momentum-focused participants may have more opportunity to respond as a narrative develops before the next full session.

Volatility may start moving earlier—and linger later

The expanded schedule could shift the rhythm of volatility. The 7:30 a.m. start may allow expectations to form before the regular open, potentially moving some trading activity that once gathered in the first minutes of the session into the earlier window. The 4:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. session could similarly extend the market’s reaction to late headlines beyond the close.

For momentum traders, that may create a more continuous chain between catalyst and response. It may also complicate the familiar open-and-close playbook: a move sparked before 9:25 a.m. could influence the regular-session open, while an after-hours reaction could shape expectations for the following trading day.

Access is not the same as liquidity

The important market-structure caveat is that longer hours do not automatically mean deeper liquidity. Trading outside regular hours may have different participation levels, and the resulting market may respond differently to large orders or sudden news. That could produce sharper volatility around catalysts, even as the additional access gives traders more ways to adjust.

In that sense, Cboe’s move is less about simply adding 105 minutes of trading than about redrawing the borders of the session. The new morning and afternoon windows may help options markets absorb information sooner, but they could also make the transition into and out of regular trading more consequential. For traders watching momentum, the opening bell may become less of a starting gun—and the closing bell less of a full stop.