What Time Does the US Stock Market Open and Close?

What Time Does the US Stock Market Open & Close?

The US Stock market opening times are the hours that stock exchanges are open for business and reflect an exchange’s geographic location. US Stock Market includes the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq, which are both headquartered in New York. Knowinsideers provide the information of opening and closing times as well as the US Market holidays for all years.

When does the US stock market open?

Regular trading hours for the U.S. stock market, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq), are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays (except stock market holidays). On early-closure days, typically right before or right after a market holiday, regular stock trading ends at 1 p.m. ET.

That said, trading can occur outside of normal stock market hours.

For instance, on days with a regular session, there is "pre-market" trading; while hours vary, they can extend as early as 4 a.m. and go through the market open at 9:30 a.m. There are also "after-hours" sessions, which typically span from 4 to 8 p.m.

These trades are performed on "electronic communications networks," or ECNs, and directly pair buyers and sellers rather than using a middleman. While this kind of trading once was only accessible to large institutional buyers, today brokers such as Fidelity and Charles Schwab facilitate this kind of trading.

As for the weekends: There are no regular trading hours for stocks on Saturdays or Sundays. But if you see a headline on Sunday nights saying that stock futures are down, that's because most futures contracts (including equity futures, but also oil, agricultural products, commodities, and other investments) begin trading at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sundays.

Opening and closing times of US stock exchanges

There are two stock exchanges located in the US: the NYSE and the NASDAQ. Both follow the same opening times, which you can see listed in the table below.

Opening and closing times of US stock indices - the NYSE, NASDAQ, Dow Jones, and S&P 500

A stock index is a calculation of the price movements of a group of shares, so will typically only be open when the relevant exchanges are open. All three major stock indices in the US – the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and the NASDAQ 100 – follow the same times as the NYSE and the NASDAQ.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones track the prices of stocks listed on both the NYSE and the NASDAQ, while the NASDAQ 100 is comprised solely of stocks listed on the NASDAQ.

The majority of index trading, though, is based on the prices of futures contracts – prices agreed today for a trade at a set date in the future. These contracts are bought and sold on futures exchanges, which typically have longer hours than stock exchanges.

When you see an index price quoted outside of its exchange’s opening times, you’re often seeing its futures price. With IG, you can trade US stock indices 24-hours a day from 11 pm Sunday until 10 pm Friday (UK time). Outside regular hours, our prices are based on futures and the movements of other related markets.

When buying and selling indices with IG, you can decide whether to trade at the live price (called the spot) or the futures price. You can also buy and sell indices on the weekend if you want to hedge a weekday position.

Does the US Stock Market close for lunch?

Photo: financemagnates

Unlike many stock exchanges around the world – especially in Asia – neither the NYSE nor the NASDAQ closes for a lunch break. So buying and selling takes place right through from the opening bell at 9.30 am to the closing bell at 4 pm.

Most brokers and trading providers will follow each exchange’s opening times. So if you’re looking to buy and sell US shares in the UK, you’d typically only be able to do so between 2.30 pm - 9 pm (UK time) from Monday to Friday.

With IG, however, you can access extended hours on over 70 US shares, enabling you to trade from 9 am to 1 am Monday to Thursday, and 9 am to 10 pm on Friday (UK time). You’ll also benefit from low fees with $0 commission on US shares,^2, and an FX conversion fee of just 0.5%.

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After-hours stock trading on US shares

As well as their regular hours from 9.30 am - 4 pm, both the NYSE and the NASDAQ allow after-hours trading up until 8 pm (New York time). They also offer a pre-market session from 4 am - 9.30 am (New York time). During these periods, orders are executed using technology that matches buyers and sellers automatically, called electronic communication networks (ECNs).

The NYSE and the NASDAQ are the world’s biggest and second-biggest exchanges respectively. Offering these extended hours enables them to cater to the high volume of trades they see each day.

However, pre-market and after-hours periods tend to see a drop off in volume from standard hours. This dampens liquidity and can lead to heightened volatility, which may increase risk.

How do stock exchange trading hours work in the US?

Stock exchange trading hours in the US work using three distinct sessions: pre-market, regular, and after-hours. Pre-market runs from 4 am - 9.30 am, regular runs from 9.30 am to 4 pm, and after-hours runs from 4 pm - 8 pm (New York time). So it’s possible to buy and sell stocks 14 hours a day.

The trading floor on the NYSE, though, is only open during the regular session. Pre-market and after-hours orders are facilitated using ECNs that automatically match buyers and sellers. The NASDAQ doesn’t have a trading floor – order fulfillment is computerized across every session.

Despite the rise of extended-hours trading, most volume still occurs during standard hours on both the NYSE and the NASDAQ.

US stock market opening times summed up

Photo: ft

• Regular trading hours on the NASDAQ and NYSE run from 2.30 pm - 9 pm (UK time)
• Both exchanges offer extended hours, which are facilitated using ECNs
• You can trade 70 key US stocks from 9 am - 1 am (UK time) Monday to Thursday, and up to 10 pm (UK time) on a Friday, with IG

US Stock Market Holidays

In addition to sharing the same opening times, the NYSE and the NASDAQ have the same holidays. There are typically nine days each year when US exchanges are closed, plus two when they close early.

Here’s a breakdown of when they fall over the holiday in the year:

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