Feb 3 (Reuters) - Cboe Global Markets ( CBOE ) on Monday

announced plans to expand U.S. equities trading to a 24-hour,

five-days-a-week format to meet the global demand for the

country's stock market.

The plan seeks to enable trading, which will only break on

the weekends, on its Cboe EDGX Equities Exchange (EDGX).

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The move comes amid increasing demand for extended hours

trading from retail investors, which is driving some brokers and

exchanges to expand their offerings.

The New York Stock Exchange, a division of the

Intercontinental Exchange ( ICE ), said last year that it would

file for permission to extend its trading hours to 22 hours each

business day.

KEY QUOTES

"We continue to hear from market participants globally -

particularly those in Asia Pacific markets like Hong Kong,

Japan, Korea, Singapore and Australia - that they want greater

access to U.S. equities trading and need trusted venues that can

offer transparency, robust liquidity and efficient price

discovery," said Oliver Sung, head of North American Equities at

Cboe Global Markets ( CBOE ).

CONTEXT

A 24-hour trading cycle will allow retail investors to trade

overnight, i.e., to place buy and sell orders between U.S.

market close at 8 p.m. ET and the opening of pre-market

on-exchange trading the next morning at 4 a.m.

The potential move will allow overseas investors to carry out

trades during normal hours and U.S. investors to get an edge if

major news breaks later in the day.