The stock market follows a fixed schedule, and you can check whether it was open by knowing the day of the week and the date

The stock market is closed on weekends and on specific federal holidays. If today is Saturday or Sunday, the market was closed. If today is a weekday, the market was almost certainly open — unless it falls on one of the 10 holidays when U.S. exchanges shut down. The fastest way to confirm is to check the NASDAQ or NYSE website directly, or to look at whether your brokerage app shows trading activity for the day.

The market opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time and closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on regular trading days. If you tried to trade outside those hours, your order would not have gone through, even though the market was technically "open" for the day.

Key Takeaways

  • The stock market is closed every Saturday and Sunday, and on 10 federal holidays throughout the year.
  • Regular trading hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and orders placed outside those hours do not execute until the next open period.
  • The easiest way to confirm whether the market was open is to check your brokerage app or the official NASDAQ or NYSE website.
  • Even on days when the market is open, it may close early (at 1:00 p.m. Eastern) on the day after Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve.

The 10 federal holidays when U.S. stock exchanges close

The New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ close on these holidays every year: New Year's Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (third Monday in January), Presidents' Day (third Monday in February), Good Friday (varies, usually in March or April), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), Juneteenth (June 19), Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November), and Christmas Day (December 25).

If the holiday falls on a weekend, the market does not observe a makeup day — it simply remains closed on the weekend as usual. For example, if Christmas falls on a Saturday, the market is closed on Saturday anyway, and it reopens on Monday.

Early closures and shortened trading days

Twice a year, the stock market closes early instead of staying open until 4:00 p.m. Eastern. The day after Thanksgiving (the Friday after the fourth Thursday in November) closes at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Christmas Eve (December 24) also closes at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, but only if it falls on a weekday.

These early closures are scheduled in advance, so your brokerage should show them on its calendar. If you place an order during the final hours before an early close, make sure you understand when it will execute.

How to check your brokerage app or website

Most brokerage platforms display a market status indicator on their homepage or in the app. This indicator usually shows "Market Open," "Market Closed," or "Pre-Market" or "After-Hours Trading." If you see trading activity in your account for today, the market was open during the time that activity occurred.

You can also check the official websites of the New York Stock Exchange (nyse.com) or NASDAQ (nasdaq.com). Both sites post their holiday calendar and current market status. If you are looking back at a past date, you can cross-reference it against the calendar to confirm whether the market was open.

Pre-market and after-hours trading

Even when the regular market is closed, some brokerages allow trading during extended hours. Pre-market trading typically runs from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Eastern, and after-hours trading runs from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern. These sessions have lower volume and wider bid-ask spreads, so prices can move differently than during regular hours.

If you placed an order during pre-market or after-hours, it would have executed during those windows, not during the regular 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. session. Not all brokerages offer extended-hours trading, so check your account settings to see whether you have access.

What to do if you think the market should have been open

If you expected to trade today and could not, first check the day of the week and the date against the holiday calendar above. Then log into your brokerage and look at the market status indicator. If it shows "Market Closed" and today is not a weekend or holiday, contact your brokerage's customer service — there may be a technical issue or an unscheduled closure.

If you placed an order that did not execute, check whether it was placed during regular trading hours (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern). Orders placed outside those hours may sit in a queue until the market opens again, or they may have been rejected depending on your brokerage's rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the stock market ever close early on days other than the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve?

No. The only scheduled early closures are the day after Thanksgiving (1:00 p.m. Eastern) and Christmas Eve if it falls on a weekday (1:00 p.m. Eastern). The market may close early due to a technical emergency or a major news event, but this is rare and would be announced by the exchanges.

If a holiday falls on a Saturday, does the market close on Friday instead?

No. The market observes the actual holiday date. If the holiday falls on a weekend, the market is simply closed on the weekend as usual, and there is no makeup closure on Friday or Monday.

Can I trade on the stock market on Sundays?

No. The stock market does not trade on Sundays. Some brokerages offer extended-hours trading on Sunday evening (usually starting around 5:00 p.m. Eastern), but this is not the main market — it is a limited after-hours session with lower volume.

What time does the market open and close?

The regular market opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time and closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Pre-market trading starts at 4:00 a.m. Eastern, and after-hours trading runs until 8:00 p.m. Eastern, but these are not the main trading sessions.

If I place an order at 4:15 p.m., when will it execute?

If you place an order after 4:00 p.m. Eastern (when the regular market closes), it will typically sit in a queue and execute when the market opens again the next trading day, unless your brokerage offers after-hours trading and you have that feature turned on. Check your brokerage's order settings to see how it handles orders placed outside regular hours.