NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) - Market infrastructure

company Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) said on

Tuesday it plans to increase its clearing services operating

hours to support extended U.S. equities trading in the second

quarter of 2026, according to a statement.

When clearing a trade, the DTCC processes it and takes

care of risks to avoid disruptions.

The clearing house's move comes as U.S. exchanges are

planning to offer 24-hour trading. Nasdaq President Tal

Cohen wrote in a social media post earlier this month that it

has started discussions with regulators to launch 24-hour,

five-day-a-week trading in the second half of 2026, as

international demand for U.S. stocks has surged in recent years.

Rival exchanges Cboe Global Markets ( CBOE ) and

Intercontinental Exchange ( ICE ), the operator of the New York

Stock Exchange, are also planning round-the-clock trading

services.

Still pending regulatory review and approval, DTCC's new

clearing offer through its National Securities Clearing

Corporation is aimed at providing the infrastructure exchanges

need to trade in extended hours.

NSCC intends to operate from Sunday 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT

Monday) through Friday 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT Saturday), it said.

Last year, the clearing house started allowing trading platforms

to submit trades at 1:30 a.m. ET (0530 GMT), roughly 2.5 hours

earlier.