Rakuten Backs Near-24-Hour Trading as Global Demand for U.S. Stocks Grows
Why Is Rakuten Extending Access to U.S. Equities?
Rakuten Securities is expanding pre-market and later than-hours trading for U.S. stocks, giving Japanese investors broader access to American equities outside the standard New York trading session. The move addresses a long-standing constraint for Asia-based investors, whose local business hours rarely overlap with U.S. cash markets.
For Japanese retail clients, U.S. equities typically open late in the evening and close in the ahead morning. Earnings releases, macro data, and corporate news often break when local markets are shut. Rakuten says extended trading hours allow clients to respond in real time rather than waiting for the next session, reducing execution delays that can materially affect outcomes during volatile periods.
The expansion reflects rising demand among Japanese retail investors for more active participation in U.S. markets, which continue to attract global capital due to liquidity, sector depth, and technology exposure.
Investor Takeaway
How Does 24X Fit Into Rakuten’s Strategy?
Rakuten’s move is closely tied to its investment in , a fintech developing a near-continuous U.S. equities platform. The company’s subsidiary, , has received approval to operate a 23-hour weekday trading session, marking the first time a U.S. national platform has been authorized to trade for almost an entire day under full platform oversight.
Although trading on 24X is not yet continuous, the approval signals regulatory openness to extended-hours market structures. For Rakuten, the stake is less about short-term volume and more about ahead exposure to what could become a structural change in how U.S. equities are accessed globally.
By aligning its brokerage offering with a near-24-hour platform model, Rakuten is positioning itself for a future where global retail participation is not constrained by .
What Else Is Rakuten Changing for Retail Traders?
The trading-hours expansion is part of a broader product update. Rakuten is launching a beginner-focused margin service called “Raku-Raku Shinbin,” aimed at customers with no prior stock-trading experience. Leverage is capped at 1x of the user’s own funds, and the maximum tradeable amount is limited to 5 million yen.
The product allows short tradeing and fund reuse, introducing key trading mechanics without exposing users to high leverage. Rakuten says clients can transition to standard margin accounts as they gain experience, framing the service as a stepping stone rather than a full margin answer.
Alongside this, the broker is adding automatic reinvestment of dividends and sale proceeds from U.S. stocks into U.S. dollar money market funds. The feature keeps capital deployed rather than idle, reducing delays between cash settlement and reinvestment for non-U.S. investors managing dollar exposure.
Investor Takeaway
How Is Automated Research Being Used?
Rakuten is pairing trading access with automated research tools powered by BridgeWise. The system provides analysis across more than 7,100 Japanese and U.S. stocks, processing earnings releases, filings, and financial statements to generate ratings, peer comparisons, and post-earnings metrics.
According to Rakuten, users generated more than 3 million investment reports within 24 hours of gaining access, suggesting strong demand for automated analysis alongside trading tools. The research is integrated across web, desktop, and mobile platforms, reinforcing Rakuten’s push toward a unified trading and analysis workflow.
What Are the Trade-Offs of Longer Trading Hours?
Extended trading brings clear benefits, but also challenges. Liquidity outside regular sessions is typically thinner, and bid-ask spreads can widen. Price moves during later than-hours trading may not fully reflect broader market consensus, raising execution risks for less experienced traders.
Rakuten has not detailed how it will manage execution quality during these periods. Its investment in 24X suggests a longer-term belief that platform-level answers, rather than broker routing alone, will be needed to support deep liquidity in near-continuous markets.
