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It is important to know when the market opens and closes…[because] if you submit an order outside of regular stock market hours the order may not get filled until the market opens.
The U.S. stock market is open Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Many stocks can also be bought and sold in extended-hours trading. Pre-market trading opens at 4:00 a.m. and after-hours trading closes at 8 p.m.
Stock trading hours are usually noted in Eastern Time because that’s the time zone of New York, where Wall Street is.
In other US time zones, the stock market opens at 8:30 a.m. Central Time, 7:30 a.m. Mountain Time and 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time.
Here’s an overview of stock market opening hours in different time zones in the US:
| Opening Hours | Extended Hours | |
| Eastern Time (EST) | 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | 04:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Central Time (CST) | 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. | 03:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. |
| Mountain Time (MST) | 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. | 02:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
| Pacific Time (PST) | 6:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | 01:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
Stock market holidays in 2020
On holidays, the main US stock exchanges (NYSE and Nasdaq) close for the entire day. However, on a few holidays, the market opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time but instead closes early at 1:00 p.m.
These are all the planned stock market holidays in 2020:
- New Year’s Day: January 1 (Wednesday)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: January 20 (Monday)
- Presidents’ Day: February 17 (Monday)
- Good Friday: April 10 (Friday)
- Memorial Day: May 25 (Monday)
- Independence Day: July 3 (Friday)
- Labor Day: September 7 (Monday)
- Thanksgiving Day: November 26 (Thursday)
- Christmas Day: December 25 (Friday)
In addition, the market will close at 1:00 p.m. on Black Friday (November 27) and Christmas Eve (December 24).
These holidays are identical for both the NYSE and Nasdaq. However, bond markets may have different holidays and trading hours than stock exchanges.
Worldwide stock market opening hours
Stock markets outside the US have their own opening hours, in their own local times.
All of them are open Monday through Friday, but stock exchanges outside the US can have completely different holidays.
North America
- United States: The main US stock exchanges (NYSE and Nasdaq) are open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday through Friday.
- Canada: The Toronto Stock Exchange is also open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time, which is the same as Eastern Time.
Asia
- China: The Shanghai Stock Exchange opens at 9:00 a.m. local time and closes at 3:00 p.m. It closes between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. for lunch.
- Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Stock Exchange opens at 9:00 a.m. and closes at 4:00 p.m. It is closed for lunch between 12.00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
- Japan: The Tokyo Stock Exchange is open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. but closed for lunch between 11:30 and 12:30 a.m. local time.
- India: The Bombay Stock Exchange is open between 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. local time. There is no lunch break.
Europe
- United Kingdom: The London Stock Exchange is open between 08:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. local time (GMT).
- Germany: The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Börse) opens at 8:00 a.m. and closes at 8:00 p.m. local time.
- France: Euronext Paris opens at 9:00 a.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m. local time.
- Switzerland: The Swiss Exchange opens at 9:00 a.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m. local time.
Others
Australia: The Australian Securities Exchange opens at 10:00 a.m. and closes at 4:00 p.m. local time.
Futures trading hours
Types of securities called futures contracts can be traded almost around the clock Monday through Friday. For example, futures on the S&P500 Index (called E-mini S&P 500 futures) can be traded from 6:00 p.m. on Sunday to 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
However, there is a break in E-mini futures trading between 4:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. each day.
Other types of futures contracts may have different trading hours, such as commodity and currency futures.
Option trading hours
Most options contracts on US stock exchanges can only be traded between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST, the same as regular trading hours for stocks.
Editor’s Note: The original article by has been edited ([ ]) and abridged (…) above for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy. The author’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor. Also note that this complete paragraph must be included in any re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.
