When does the market open? It’s a relatively simple question, but one with more answers than you’d think.
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., except on stock market holidays. (All times Eastern unless otherwise indicated.) There are also several early closure days like Black Friday, typically around other holidays, when regular stock market trading ends at 1 p.m.
Easy enough.
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However, trading can also occur outside of these regular stock market trading hours. On days with a regular session, for instance, there is “pre-market” trading. This occurs before the market, and while hours vary, they can extend as early as 4 a.m. and run until 9:30 a.m. There is also “after-hours” trading, which happens after the market closes and typically runs 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 and trading platforms such as Fidelity and Charles Schwab facilitate this for market participants. Still, many brokers limit the types of transactions that can occur in pre-market and after-hours trading, so you’ll want to make sure to check with yours to see what specifically is available.
When Does the Market Open on the Weekends?There are no regular trading hours for stocks on Saturdays or Sundays. However, if you see news on a Sunday night saying that stock futures are down, that’s because most futures contracts (including equity futures, but also commodities such as oil and agricultural products and other investments) begin trading Sunday night on the major exchanges.
When Does the Market Open for Commodities Trading?Commodities such as oil, gold and wheat trade electronically from 6 p.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Friday on CME Group exchanges. Regular trading hours at the competing Intercontinental Exchange run from 8 p.m. Sunday to 6 p.m. Friday. Commodity ETFs and mutual funds, meanwhile, can be traded during regular stock market hours.
When Does the Market Open for International Stocks?Investors interested in what international markets are doing in real time might need an evening pot of coffee, depending on what country they’re following.
Here are the trading times for some of the largest global stock exchanges. (All times featured here represent regular trading hours, Monday-Friday, and are listed in Eastern time.)
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX): 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.Mexico Stock Exchange (BMV): 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.London Stock Exchange (LSE): 3 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.Euronext Paris (EPA): 3 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA): 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE): 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE): 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE): 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKG): 9:30 p.m. to 12 a.m., 1 a.m. to 4 a.m.Meanwhile, investors can trade American depositary receipts (ADRs) – foreign companies that trade on domestic stock exchanges – during regular U.S. trading hours.
When Does the Market Open for Cryptocurrencies?The digital currencies market is the easiest schedule to remember. Cryptocurrencies trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From Bitcoin to the smallest altcoin, if you have an itch, you can scratch it whenever you’d like. That said, not all brokerage firms offer access to cryptocurrencies, so you’ll want to check with yours to see if they allow buying and selling of digital assets – or find a centralized crypto exchange like Coinbase Global (COIN (opens in new tab)).