How to check today's stock market performance

The stock market closes at 4 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays. Once it closes, you can see how the major indexes performed that day on financial websites, news sites, and brokerage platforms. The three most-watched indexes are the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq-100. Each one tracks a different group of companies and moves at its own pace.

If you want results the same day, financial news sites update within minutes of the 4 p.m. close. CNBC, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, and Google Finance all publish the day's results immediately. If you own stocks through a brokerage account—Fidelity, Vanguard, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, or others—you can log in and see your own holdings and their performance right away. The market does not trade on weekends or federal holidays, so Friday's close is the last update until Monday morning.

Key Takeaways

  • The stock market closes at 4 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays, and results are published within minutes on financial news sites and brokerage platforms.
  • The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq-100 are the three major indexes; each one reflects different groups of companies.
  • You can check your own stock holdings through your brokerage account login, which shows real-time or near-real-time prices during market hours.
  • The market is closed on weekends and federal holidays, so the most recent trading day may be several days old on a Monday morning.

What the numbers mean when you see them

When you look up today's market results, you will see a number and a direction—usually a green up arrow or a red down arrow. The number is the point change: how many points the index gained or lost. The percentage is more useful for comparison, because it shows the size of the move relative to the index's total value. An index up 50 points sounds big, but if the index is worth 5,000 points, that is only a 1 percent gain. If the index is worth 20,000 points, the same 50-point move is only a 0.25 percent gain.

Individual stocks show the same information: the dollar amount the price moved and the percentage change. A stock that went from $100 to $105 is up 5 percent. A stock that went from $20 to $21 is also up 5 percent, even though the dollar move is smaller. Percentage change lets you compare stocks and indexes fairly, no matter their size.

Where to find detailed breakdowns by sector and stock

If you want to know which parts of the market moved the most, financial news sites break down the day's results by sector. The main sectors are technology, healthcare, financials, consumer goods, industrials, energy, materials, real estate, utilities, and communication services. Some days technology stocks surge while energy stocks fall, or vice versa. Knowing which sectors moved tells you what kinds of companies drove the day's overall result.

To see how individual stocks performed, search the company name or ticker symbol on any financial news site or your brokerage platform. You will see the stock's opening price, closing price, high and low for the day, and the volume of shares traded. Volume tells you how many shares changed hands; high volume often means the move was driven by real buying or selling pressure, while low volume can mean the move was smaller or less meaningful.

Understanding market hours and after-hours trading

The regular market session runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time. Before that, from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., there is a pre-market session. After the close, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., there is an after-hours session. Both of these sessions have much lower trading volume and wider price swings, so the prices you see during those times are less stable than during regular hours.

If you see a stock price that looks very different from the regular close when you check it early in the morning or late at night, that is likely after-hours or pre-market trading. Most individual investors do not trade during these times, and most brokerages charge extra fees or restrict trading during these sessions. The official "close" for the day is the price at 4 p.m. Eastern, and that is what most news reports refer to when they say how a stock performed.

Why today's results may not match what you see in the morning

If you check the market at 9:30 a.m. the next day, the closing price from yesterday may look different from what you saw the night before. This happens because of after-hours trading between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and pre-market trading from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. A stock might close at $50 at 4 p.m., trade up to $51 after hours, then open at $50.50 the next morning when regular trading begins.

The official closing price for the day is always the price at 4 p.m. Eastern. That is what gets recorded in the history books and what financial reports use. After-hours and pre-market prices are real trades, but they happen in a much thinner market with fewer buyers and sellers, so they are less reliable as a measure of what the stock is "really" worth.

Free sources for market data and news

You do not need to pay for market information. Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, MarketWatch, and CNBC all publish today's results for free. The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have paywalls, but they let you read a few articles per month before asking you to subscribe. Your bank or brokerage may also have a market news section built into your account.

If you own individual stocks, set up price alerts on your brokerage platform or on a free financial app like Robinhood or Webull. These apps let you know when a stock hits a price you choose, so you do not have to check manually all day. Most brokerages also email a daily market summary if you turn on notifications in your account settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see what the market did before 4 p.m.?

Yes. During regular market hours (9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern), prices update constantly on financial websites and brokerage platforms. You can see the intraday chart showing how a stock or index moved throughout the day. Pre-market and after-hours prices are also visible on most platforms, but they are less stable and less widely traded.

Why do different websites show slightly different closing prices?

They usually do not, but if you see a small difference, it is likely because one site is showing the official exchange close and another is showing the last trade that happened in after-hours trading. The official close at 4 p.m. Eastern is the standard. Differences of a few cents are normal rounding or data delays of a few seconds.

What if the market was closed today?

The market is closed on weekends and federal holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. On those days, there is no trading and no official close. The most recent market close was the previous trading day.

How do I know if a big move today is normal or unusual?

A move of 1 to 2 percent for a major index is normal and happens regularly. Moves of 3 to 5 percent are larger but not rare. Moves above 5 percent usually mean something significant happened—a major economic report, a geopolitical event, or a major company announcement. You can compare today's move to the past month or year on any financial site to see if it stands out.

Should I make a trade based on today's results?

This guide explains where to find market information, not whether to buy or sell. That decision depends on your own financial situation, goals, and risk tolerance. If you are unsure, speak with a financial advisor or do more research before trading.