Case for 24/7 Stock Market

So recently I have been thinking about markets and how they operate. One thing that seems strange is why the stock market is not open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days per day. You might think this is odd however in the financial industry many people are at work a little before the market opens 8:30 A.M. and are done by 3:30 P.M. Of course there is other work that has to be done by trading can only be done in these hours. This is odd considering currency markets are open 24 hours a day 6 days per week (has been going on since 1995 too). I found this article from 1985 that talked about 24 hour trading (commissions back then were over $100 and a far cry from the $4 now paid by investors). Also since 1985 trading hours have been from 9:30 A.M. to 4 P.M. Eastern Time. However despite this after-hours trading can go on between 4-8 P.M.

Simple economics should suggest that a 24 hour stock market is a no brainer  If we had a 24 hour market then we would have less volatility because we would have more transactions. For some odd reason I believe people might get worried about the market taking a tumble at 3 A.M... However, nearly every other market is open 24 hours per day. Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and IHOP, are a few that are open 24 hours a day. People buy goods online all day and night. So it is really strange how anyone would argue against a 24 hour market. As long as there is a willing buying and seller we should have there always will be a deal to be made.