Regular Stock Market Hours

The U.S. stock market opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on weekdays and closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This is true for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ, which are where most publicly traded stocks change hands. The market does not open on Saturdays or Sundays.

Before the official open at 9:30 a.m., there is a pre-market trading session that runs from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. After the close at 4:00 p.m., there is an after-hours session that runs until 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Both of these sessions have lower trading volume and wider bid-ask spreads, meaning prices can move more sharply and it can be harder to buy or sell at the price you want.

Key Takeaways

  • The stock market opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time and closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on weekdays only.
  • Pre-market trading begins at 4:00 a.m. and after-hours trading continues until 8:00 p.m., but both have thinner trading and wider price swings.
  • The market is closed on weekends and on specific federal holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Independence Day.
  • When a holiday falls on a weekday, the market closes entirely; there is no shortened trading day.

Federal Holidays When the Market Closes

The stock market closes on the following federal holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. When one of these holidays falls on a weekday, the market does not open at all.

The market does not observe a shortened trading day on holidays. If Christmas falls on a Tuesday, the market is simply closed that day. The following day (Wednesday) opens at the regular 9:30 a.m. time, assuming it is not also a holiday.

Occasionally the market closes early — at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time — on the day after Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve if it falls on a weekday. These early closures are announced in advance by the NYSE and NASDAQ, so check their official calendars if you are planning to trade around these dates.

Time Zone Considerations

The stock market operates on Eastern Time, regardless of where you live. If you are on the West Coast, the market opens at 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time and closes at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time. If you are in the Mountain Time zone, that is 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time. If you are in the Central Time zone, that is 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Central Time.

This matters most for pre-market and after-hours trading. A West Coast trader who wants to trade during pre-market hours needs to be ready at 4:00 a.m. Pacific Time, which is 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. After-hours trading on the West Coast runs until 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

What Happens During Market Closures

When the market is closed, you cannot buy or sell stocks through normal trading channels. Your brokerage account will still show your holdings and their last closing price, but that price does not update until the market reopens. If major news breaks while the market is closed — earnings reports, economic data, geopolitical events — the price you see when the market opens the next day may be very different from the previous close.

Some brokerages allow you to place orders during pre-market and after-hours sessions, but these orders do not execute until the regular market session begins (or they may not execute at all if the price never reaches your specified level). Orders placed during market closure are held and executed according to your instructions once trading resumes.

International Stock Markets

If you trade stocks on exchanges outside the United States, those markets operate on their own schedules. The London Stock Exchange opens at 8:00 a.m. GMT and closes at 4:30 p.m. GMT. The Tokyo Stock Exchange opens at 9:00 a.m. JST and closes at 3:00 p.m. JST. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Germany) opens at 8:00 a.m. CET and closes at 10:00 p.m. CET. Each market also observes its own set of holidays.

If you hold American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) — which are U.S.-traded shares representing foreign stocks — they trade on U.S. market hours, not the hours of the underlying foreign exchange. The price of an ADR can still move based on overnight trading in the foreign market, and that movement will show up when U.S. pre-market trading begins.

How to Check if the Market Is Open Today

The fastest way to know whether the market is open is to check the NYSE or NASDAQ websites directly. Both publish their annual holiday calendar and any special closures or early closings. You can also check your brokerage account — most brokerages display a banner or notification on their trading platform when the market is closed.

If you are unsure whether a specific day is a trading day, search "[date] stock market open" or visit the Investor.gov website, which is run by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These sources will tell you whether the market is open, closed, or closing early.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I trade stocks on weekends?

No. The stock market does not open on Saturdays or Sundays. Some brokerages offer cryptocurrency or forex trading on weekends, but traditional stock trading is only available during the regular market week (Monday through Friday).

What time does the market open on the day after Thanksgiving?

The market opens at the regular time of 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but it closes early at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time that day. This early close is standard and announced in advance by the NYSE and NASDAQ.

If I place an order after the market closes, when will it execute?

If you place an order during after-hours trading (4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time), it may execute during that session if there is a matching buyer or seller. If it does not execute, it will carry over to the next regular market session at 9:30 a.m. and execute according to your order type (market, limit, stop, etc.). If the next day is a holiday and the market is closed, your order waits until the following trading day.

Does the stock market ever open early or close late?

No. The regular market session always opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on trading days. The market does close early (at 1:00 p.m.) on the day after Thanksgiving and sometimes on Christmas Eve, but it never opens early or stays open past 4:00 p.m. on a regular trading day.

What if a holiday falls on a weekend?

If a federal holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the market is not affected — it is already closed on weekends. The market does not observe a makeup closure on the following Monday. For example, if Independence Day falls on a Sunday, the market opens normally on Monday.