The stock market is closed on Good Friday

Yes. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Nasdaq, and the bond markets all close on Good Friday. No stocks trade, no options trade, and no bonds trade. The market does not open at all that day.

Good Friday is a federal holiday observed by the financial markets. It falls on the Friday before Easter Sunday, which means the date changes each year. In 2024, Good Friday was March 29. In 2025, it will be April 18. The exact date depends on the lunar calendar used to calculate Easter.

If you have a standing order to buy or sell stock on Good Friday, it will not execute that day. It will execute on the next trading day, which is Monday. Limit orders and stop orders you set before the market closes on Thursday will remain active and may trigger on Monday morning when the market reopens.

Key Takeaways

  • The NYSE, Nasdaq, and bond markets all close completely on Good Friday — no trading happens at any time that day.
  • Good Friday falls on a different date each year because it is tied to the lunar calendar and Easter, so check your calendar or your broker's holiday schedule each spring.
  • Any buy or sell order you place on Good Friday will not execute until Monday when the market reopens.
  • The market also closes on other federal holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day, but Good Friday is the only market closure tied to the Christian calendar.

When Good Friday falls and how to plan around it

Good Friday occurs on the Friday before Easter, which moves each year. The earliest it can fall is March 22; the latest is April 25. Most years it lands between March 29 and April 19. If you trade regularly or manage a portfolio, check your broker's holiday calendar at the start of each quarter to see when the market will be closed.

The market closes at its normal time on Thursday before Good Friday — usually 4 p.m. Eastern time. It reopens Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. This means you have a three-day weekend when no trading occurs. If you want to make a trade before the break, you need to do it by Thursday's close.

Some brokers allow you to place orders over the weekend that will execute when the market opens Monday, but the price you get depends on what happens to the stock price over the weekend. If major news breaks on Friday or over the weekend, the stock price Monday morning may be very different from what you expected.

Other market closures you should know about

Good Friday is one of nine days per year when the U.S. stock market closes completely. The others are New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

On some of these days — particularly the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve — the market opens but closes early at 1 p.m. Eastern time instead of the normal 4 p.m. Check your broker's calendar for the specific hours on those days, because an early close can catch traders off guard.

International markets have their own holiday schedules. If you trade stocks on foreign exchanges or own international funds, those markets may be open when the U.S. market is closed, and vice versa. This can create price differences between U.S. and international versions of the same stock.

What happens to your orders and positions over the Good Friday weekend

If you own stock, your shares remain yours over the weekend. You still own them on Monday morning. The price may move based on news or events that happen Friday through Sunday, but your ownership does not change.

If you have set a limit order — an order to buy at a certain price or sell at a certain price — that order stays active. If the stock price reaches your limit price on Monday morning when the market opens, your order will execute. If the stock gaps past your price (jumps over it without trading at that price), your order may not fill.

Stop orders work the same way. If you set a stop order to sell if the price drops to a certain level, that order remains active and will trigger on Monday if the price reaches it. However, if the stock opens Monday at a price below your stop, your order may execute at a worse price than you set, because stop orders become market orders once triggered.

How to prepare if you want to trade before Good Friday

If you plan to make trades before the Good Friday closure, do it by Thursday afternoon. Orders placed after the Thursday close will not execute until Monday. This includes orders placed Friday morning, Friday afternoon, or any time over the weekend.

If you are waiting for news or earnings reports that might come out Friday, remember that you cannot trade on that news until Monday. Some traders avoid holding positions over long weekends for this reason — the risk that news will move the price while they cannot trade.

If you use a robo-advisor or have automatic rebalancing set up, check whether your account rebalances on market holidays. Most do not, but some may attempt to rebalance on Friday and then execute the trades Monday morning. Ask your broker or advisor how they handle holiday weekends.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I trade on Good Friday if I use an international broker?

No. Good Friday is a U.S. market closure, so the NYSE and Nasdaq are closed regardless of where your broker is located. However, some international exchanges may be open. If you hold stocks on a foreign exchange, you may be able to trade those, but U.S. stocks will not trade.

What if I need to sell stock before Good Friday but forget?

You cannot sell on Good Friday itself. You can place an order to sell on Monday morning, but the price you receive depends on what the stock does over the weekend. If you need to sell urgently, contact your broker Monday morning as soon as the market opens.

Do mutual funds and ETFs trade on Good Friday?

No. Mutual funds and ETFs that hold U.S. stocks do not trade on Good Friday. You cannot buy or sell them that day. Bond funds and money market funds also do not trade. You can buy or sell them Monday when the market reopens.

Does the stock market close early on the day before Good Friday?

No. Thursday before Good Friday is a normal trading day with normal hours — the market opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. Eastern time. Only the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve have early closes.

What if I have a dividend payment due on Good Friday?

If a company pays a dividend on Good Friday, you will receive it as scheduled. The market being closed does not stop dividend payments. However, if the ex-dividend date (the date you must own the stock to receive the dividend) falls on Good Friday, it will be moved to Thursday instead.