RakutenSecurities will stretch US stock trading hours for its Japanese clients to asmuch as 16 hours a day from June 22, adding a session that runs after theAmerican market closes so customers can react to earnings and news releasedovernight, the broker said today (Monday).The newafter-market window runs from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. Japan time during US daylightsaving time, sitting on top of the regular overnight session that ends at 5a.m. The company added pre-market US trading in January, which took its hours to 12, andthe latest step pushes the maximum to 16.LimitOrders Only in the New Post-Close WindowTheafter-market session will accept limit orders only, and cover US stocks,American depositary receipts and exchange-traded funds the broker handles,excluding over-the-counter products, according to the company.From June 14, the firm will add two order types for US stocks, IFD (if done) orders and trailing orders, which let clients pre-set a sell against a buy and move a stop-loss automatically as the price rises. Rakuten said the tools let customerstake profits or cut losses while asleep or at work.A pointspromotion for US stock trades, spot or margin, is set to begin June 15, withdetails to follow on the firm's website.A StepToward Round-the-Clock US TradingTheafter-market push is the next rung in a longer plan. Parent company RakutenSecurities Holdings invested in 24X US Holdings in May2025, a Delawarefintech building toward 23-hour US equity trading, and the broker has said itwants to bring those hours to Japanese clients as soon as it can.24XNational Exchange, the first SEC-approved venue of its kind, began trading in October 2025 from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. New Yorktime. Rakuten, which describes itself as a "partner in assetbuilding," has tied its US roadmap to that longer access.BrokersRace to Stretch the US Trading DayThe movereflects a wider contest to extend the US session, driven largely by demandfrom Asia, where Wall Street trades in the dead of night. Nasdaq has said itaims to offer 24-hour trading in the second half of 2026, pending regulatorysign-off, which would put it behind 24X.Biggervenues have moved too. The New York Stock Exchange laid out a plan in October2024 to run equities on its Arca platform for 22 hours a day, while Cboe GlobalMarkets said in February 2025 it would offer 24-hour, five-day trading on itsEDGX exchange. London Stock Exchange Group has also weighed round-the-clock trading.Tied toa Broader US Stock PushRakuten hasleaned hard on US equities as Japanese brokers fight for younger investors. Itmade domestic cash trading commission-free in October 2023 and recently topped 14 million accounts.It has alsoadded AI research, with clients generating 3 million AI stock reports in a day after a mid-2025 launch, and latelast month said it would offer bookbuilding for the SpaceX IPO, letting clients apply for sharesbefore the listing.Rivals SBI Securities and Monex are pressing on US and crypto products too, ina market where domestic equity commissions have already gone to zero. For now,Rakuten's after-market session stays limited to limit orders and a set list ofsecurities, and the firm has not said when it expects to reach the 23-hourgoal.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.