Depending on the time zone of each stock market in the world, they all have different opening and closing times. In the same way, different stock exchanges may be open or closed is special days, like holidays.
Knowing the open and close times of the stock market is essential especially if you are day trading or scalping.
Here’s what you’re going to learn today:
- What time does the Stock Market open and close?
- Does the Stock Market close for lunch?
- Is the Stock Market open on weekends?
- What is the Stock Market Extended-Hours trading?
- Is the Stock Market open on holidays?
Let’s start:
What time does the Stock Market open and close?
Here are the open and close times for the top largest and most popular stock markets in the world. All these times apply for business days.
If you want to know when does the stock market open, the US stock market, opens at 9:30 local time, while the UK stock market opens at 8:00 local time.
What about when does the stock market close?
Well, in the case of the US stock market, it closes at 16:00 (4:00 pm) local time. In the case of the UK stock market, it closes at 16:30 (4:30 pm) local time.
Besides these open and close times, some stock exchanges have extended trading times, allowing trading outside of the market hours. These are called the “pre-market” and “after-hours” trading hours.
Here’s a table with the opening and closing times of all the major stock exchanges in the world.
| LOCAL TIME | UTC TIME | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STOCK EXCHANGE | COUNTRY | OPEN | CLOSE | OPEN | CLOSE |
| New York Stock Exchange | US | 09:30 | 16:00 | 13:30 | 20:00 |
| NASDAQ Stock Exchange | US | 09:30 | 16:00 | 13:30 | 20:00 |
| Tokyo Stock Exchange | Japan | 09:00 | 15:00 | 00:00 | 06:00 |
| Shanghai Stock Exchange | China | 09:30 | 15:00 | 01:30 | 07:00 |
| Hong Kong Stock Exchange | Hong Kong | 09:15 | 16:00 | 01:15 | 08:00 |
| Euronext Stock Exchange | Netherlands | 09:00 | 17:40 | 08:00 | 16:40 |
| London Stock Exchange | UK | 08:00 | 16:30 | 08:00 | 16:30 |
| Shenzhen Stock Exchange | China | 09:15 | 16:00 | 01:15 | 08:00 |
| Toronto Stock Exchange | Canada | 09:30 | 16:00 | 13:30 | 21:00 |
| Bombay Stock Exchange | India | 09:15 | 15:30 | 03:45 | 10:00 |
Does the Stock Market close for lunch?
The London Stock Exchange and the New York or NASDAQ Stock Exchanges don’t close for lunch.
However, some stock exchanges from other parts of the world, like Asia, do close for lunch.
Here’s a list of them:
| LUNCHTIME | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| STOCK EXCHANGE | COUNTRY | LOCAL | UTC |
| New York Stock Exchange | US | – | – |
| NASDAQ Stock Exchange | US | – | – |
| Tokyo Stock Exchange | Japan | 11:30-12:30 | 02:30-03:30 |
| Shanghai Stock Exchange | China | 11:30-13:30 | 03:30-05:00 |
| Hong Kong Stock Exchange | Hong Kong | 12:00-13:00 | 04:00-05:00 |
| Euronext Stock Exchange | Netherlands | – | – |
| London Stock Exchange | UK | – | – |
| Shenzhen Stock Exchange | China | 11:30-13:00 | 03:30-05:00 |
| Toronto Stock Exchange | Canada | – | – |
| Bombay Stock Exchange | India | – | – |
Is the Stock Market open on weekends?
The stock exchanges are open and allow trading usually during the normal time that the banks are open in each country.
This normal time is during the business days and doesn’t include weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) when the banks are usually closed.
Although the typical working days in the majority of the world are from Monday to Friday, in some parts of the world, like the middle east, the working days are different.
Their usual working week starts on Sundays and ends on Thursdays. In some other middle-east countries the working week is from Saturdays to Wednesdays. Due to this, the Stock Exchanges from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and others are open to trade on Saturdays and/or Sundays.
Keep in mind that there are several possibilities to day trade while working full time, and they are probably better than trying to trade during the weekend.
What is the Stock Market Extended-Hours trading?
Extended-Hours trading allows traders to trade when the stock market is closed, outside of normal trading hours.
This extended-hours period may be of two types:
- Pre-market trading: it’s typically possible from three to four hours before the stock market opens.
- After-hours trading: it’s typically possible from three to four hours after the stock market closes.
But it was not always like this.
In the past, this was not possible, except for large Institutional traders like Banks or big Hedge Funds.
Nowadays, due to the spread of electronic trading platforms, individual traders are now able to also trade during this extended-hours period.
These kinds of trades don’t pass through the Stock Exchange floor. They are executed by ECNs (Electonic Communication Networks) and they usually pair buyers and sellers.
Not all brokers allow this type of trading. You should check with your broker if they allow it and what are the conditions.
Bear in mind that trading during extended hours may be dangerous. During this period there’s a lack of volume and low liquidity due to the lack of participants.
The spread may also be very big and the price may make big jumps and gaps.
This can lead to orders being filled at unwanted prices.
The best way to take advantage of this extended-hours trading is by using this period when to trade news releases when the stock market is closed.
This way we can make trades based on that news and also be better positioned for the stock market opening.
On the other hand, the lack of liquidity and volume, may make the price move more than desirable and lead to unexpected losses if it comes to meeting your stop loss.
Is the Stock Market open on holidays?
It’s not usual for a stock market to be open during holidays.
The NYSE is closed on the following days:
- New Years Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Washington’s Birthday
- Good Friday
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
The London Stock Exchange is closed during the following days:
- Summer Bank Holiday
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
- New Year’s Eve
- New Year’s Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Early May Bank Holiday
- Spring Bank Holiday
The Euronext Exchange is also closed during some holidays like:
- New Year’s Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Labour Day
- Christmas Day
- Christmas Eve
All information on this page is based on research, may not be accurate, and is subject to change.
UTC times may fluctuate based on changes resulting from the daylight saving time from each country.
What about you? What is your favorite time to trade?
