The stock market closes at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on regular trading days

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ — the two largest U.S. stock exchanges — both close at 4 p.m. ET. This is the same time every weekday when markets are open. If today is a weekday and not a federal holiday, the market closes at 4 p.m. ET.

The market opens at 9:30 a.m. ET on those same days. The time does not change based on daylight saving time — the close stays at 4 p.m. ET year-round, which means it is 3 p.m. Central Time, 2 p.m. Mountain Time, and 1 p.m. Pacific Time.

Markets are closed on weekends and on federal holidays including New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the market is closed on the nearest weekday.

Key Takeaways

  • Regular market hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, on all non-holiday trading days.
  • The close time is always 4 p.m. ET regardless of daylight saving time or your location.
  • Markets are closed on weekends and on 10 federal holidays throughout the year.
  • Extended hours trading exists before and after regular hours but involves different rules and wider bid-ask spreads.

Pre-market and after-hours trading windows

Trading does not stop exactly at 4 p.m. ET. After-hours trading runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on most brokers, and pre-market trading runs from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET. These are real trades on real stock, but the rules are different from regular hours.

After-hours and pre-market trades happen on smaller volume — fewer buyers and sellers are active — so the bid-ask spread (the gap between what someone will pay and what someone will sell for) is wider. A stock might trade at $100 during regular hours but show a bid of $99.50 and an ask of $100.50 in after-hours, meaning you pay more to buy and receive less to sell. Price swings can also be sharper because fewer trades anchor the price.

Not all brokers offer extended hours trading, and not all stocks trade during those windows. Check with your broker to see whether you have access and which stocks participate.

Why 4 p.m. ET is the official close

The NYSE has used 4 p.m. ET as its closing time since 1985. Before that, the market closed at 3 p.m. ET. The change was made to extend trading hours and align with international markets, particularly in London, which opens in the afternoon U.S. time.

The closing bell at 4 p.m. is a symbolic moment — a literal bell rings on the trading floor — but the official close is determined by the closing auction, a process that happens in the final seconds of trading. During this auction, buy and sell orders submitted at the close are matched at a single price. This closing price is what you see reported as "the market closed at" in news reports.

How to know if the market is open today

The fastest way to check is to look at the market itself. If the major indexes (S&P 500, Dow Jones, NASDAQ) are showing live prices and updating, the market is open. If prices are frozen and show a timestamp from 4 p.m. the previous day, the market is closed.

You can also check the NYSE holiday calendar on the official NYSE website, which lists every day the market will be closed for the current and upcoming year. The NASDAQ publishes the same information on its site. Most financial websites including Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, and your broker's platform also display whether the market is open or closed at the top of their market pages.

What happens if you try to trade after 4 p.m.

If you submit a regular market order after 4 p.m. ET, it will not execute until the next trading day at 9:30 a.m. ET or later, depending on market conditions. The order sits in a queue and waits for the market to open.

If you want to trade after 4 p.m., you must submit an after-hours order through your broker if it offers that service. After-hours orders are filled only if another trader is willing to trade at that price during the after-hours window. If no one takes the other side of your trade, your order does not fill, even if the stock trades at your price later.

Limit orders (orders that specify a price you will accept) are safer for after-hours trading than market orders, because a market order in after-hours can fill at a much worse price than you expected due to the wider spreads.

Time zone confusion and how to avoid it

The market close is always stated in Eastern Time because that is where the NYSE is located. If you live in another time zone, you need to convert. The easiest method is to remember that the market closes at 1 p.m. Pacific, 2 p.m. Mountain, 3 p.m. Central, and 4 p.m. Eastern.

Many financial websites and trading platforms automatically display market hours in your local time zone if you set your location in your account settings. Your broker's app or website should show you the close time in your own time zone without you having to do the math.

If you are trading from outside the United States, the close is still 4 p.m. ET, which may be late evening or the middle of the night in your location. International traders often use after-hours or pre-market windows to trade during their own business hours, though liquidity is lower.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the market close early on any days?

Yes. The day before Thanksgiving and the day after Independence Day (if it falls on a Friday), the market closes at 1 p.m. ET instead of 4 p.m. ET. Christmas Eve also closes at 1 p.m. ET if it falls on a weekday. Check the NYSE holiday calendar each year to confirm the exact dates.

Can I place an order after the market closes?

Yes, you can place an order after 4 p.m. ET, but it will not fill until the market reopens at 9:30 a.m. the next trading day — unless you specifically place an after-hours order and another trader accepts it during extended hours. Regular orders submitted after hours are queued for the next open.

What if I forget to sell before 4 p.m.?

Your shares remain in your account. You can sell them the next trading day during regular hours or during after-hours trading if your broker offers it. The price may be different from what it was at 4 p.m., so check the current price before you submit your order.

Does the market close at 4 p.m. on the day before a holiday?

The market closes at its regular time (4 p.m. ET, or 1 p.m. ET on certain holiday eves) the day before a holiday. It is closed all day on the holiday itself. For example, if Thanksgiving is on Thursday, the market closes early on Wednesday and is closed all day Thursday.