US stocks trade in a regular session from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time (ET) on weekdays, with thinner pre-market and after-hours sessions on either side. The times and dates below come from the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq calendars as checked on Monday, November 2, 2026, the first trading day after US clocks fell back an hour. They cover each session, every 2026 and 2027 closure, the local time in a dozen cities, the circuit breakers that can stop trading mid-session, and where 24-hour trading stands. What happens to an order once the market is open is a separate subject, covered in how the stock market works.
What are the stock market hours?
The regular session for NYSE and Nasdaq stocks runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except on market holidays. It opens and closes with auctions that set the opening and official closing prices, and extended sessions on some exchanges stretch trading from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
| Session | Eastern time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-opening order entry | From 2:30 a.m. on NYSE Arca and 6:30 a.m. on the NYSE | Orders queue for the next auction; nothing trades yet |
| Early (pre-market) session | 4:00 to 9:30 a.m. on Nasdaq and NYSE Arca; from 7:00 a.m. on some other NYSE venues | Continuous trading in much lighter volume |
| Opening auction | 9:30 a.m. | Each listing exchange prices its stocks in a single-price auction: Nasdaq's Opening Cross and the NYSE's Core Open Auction |
| Regular (core) session | 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Most of the day's volume; protected quotes and single-stock price bands apply |
| Closing auction | 4:00 p.m. | Sets the official closing price; the NYSE's closing imbalance period starts at 3:50 p.m. |
| Late (after-hours) session | 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Nasdaq, NYSE Arca and some other venues | Trading continues, often around earnings released after the bell |
| Overnight session (planned) | 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., Sunday to Thursday nights | Scheduled to start on December 6, 2026 |
For NYSE-listed stocks, the NYSE's own market does not trade before its 9:30 a.m. auction; orders entered from 6:30 a.m. simply wait in a queue. Early and late trades in those stocks happen on other exchanges, such as NYSE Arca and Nasdaq, and away from exchanges. On early-close days the regular session ends at 1:00 p.m., eligible options trade until 1:15 p.m., and the late sessions on NYSE Arca, NYSE American, NYSE National and NYSE Texas end at 5:00 p.m.
Your broker may offer narrower hours than the exchanges do. Extended sessions also come with their own order rules and risks, which extended-hours trading covers; the rest of this page is about the clock and the calendar.
When is the stock market closed in 2026 and 2027?
NYSE and Nasdaq close for 10 holidays in each of 2026 and 2027, and close early at 1:00 p.m. on a few days around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both exchange groups follow the same holiday list.
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thursday, January 1 | Friday, January 1 |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Monday, January 19 | Monday, January 18 |
| Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day) | Monday, February 16 | Monday, February 15 |
| Good Friday | Friday, April 3 | Friday, March 26 |
| Memorial Day | Monday, May 25 | Monday, May 31 |
| Juneteenth | Friday, June 19 | Friday, June 18 (observed) |
| Independence Day | Friday, July 3 (observed) | Monday, July 5 (observed) |
| Labor Day | Monday, September 7 | Monday, September 6 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thursday, November 26 | Thursday, November 25 |
| Christmas Day | Friday, December 25 | Friday, December 24 (observed) |
| Early close at 1:00 p.m. ET | Friday, November 27, and Thursday, December 24 | Friday, November 26 |
A holiday that falls on a Saturday is normally observed on the Friday before, and one that falls on a Sunday on the Monday after, which is why July 4 moves to Friday, July 3 in 2026 and to Monday, July 5 in 2027. NYSE flags one exception in its published calendar: New Year's Day 2028 is a Saturday, and no holiday will be observed for it, so Friday, December 31, 2027 is an ordinary trading day. Good Friday works the other way. It is a market holiday but not a federal one, so the Federal Reserve's payment systems stay open while the exchanges are shut.
Worked example: Thanksgiving week 2026, day by day
- Wednesday, November 25: a full session from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A sale that day settles on Friday, November 27, because Thanksgiving is not a business day.
- Thursday, November 26: closed.
- Friday, November 27: regular trading from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. That is 210 minutes instead of the usual 390, about 54% of a normal session. Late sessions on the NYSE venues run until 5:00 p.m., and a sale that day settles on Monday, November 30.
- Monday, November 30: normal hours again.
What time does the US stock market open around the world?
Eastern time is 4 hours behind UTC during US daylight time, from March to early November, and 5 hours behind the rest of the year. According to NIST, the official US timekeeper, daylight time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November: March 8 to November 1 in 2026, and March 14 to November 7 in 2027.
That puts the regular session at 13:30 to 20:00 UTC in the US summer and 14:30 to 21:00 UTC in the US winter. Countries that never change their clocks see the local opening bell move by an hour twice a year. Countries that change on different dates, as Europe does, get an unusual gap for a few weeks each spring and fall.
| City (UTC offset) | While the US is on daylight time | While the US is on standard time |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto (same as New York) | 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. | 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
| Mexico City (UTC−6) | 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. | 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
| São Paulo (UTC−3) | 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. |
| Lagos (UTC+1) | 2:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. |
| Johannesburg (UTC+2) | 3:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. | 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. |
| Nairobi (UTC+3) | 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. | 5:30 p.m. to midnight |
| Dubai (UTC+4) | 5:30 p.m. to midnight | 6:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. |
| Karachi (UTC+5) | 6:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. | 7:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. |
| Mumbai (UTC+5:30) | 7:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. | 8:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. |
| Singapore and Manila (UTC+8) | 9:30 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. | 10:30 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. |
| Tokyo (UTC+9) | 10:30 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. | 11:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. |
Mexico City and São Paulo now keep one offset all year: Mexico dropped seasonal clock changes outside its northern border strip in October 2022, and Brazil ended daylight saving time in April 2019. From Nairobi and Dubai eastward, the session ends at or after local midnight for at least part of the year, so a Monday session in New York runs from Monday evening into early Tuesday. Results that companies publish after the 4:00 p.m. close arrive in the small hours in Asia, and the after-hours session that reacts to them ends at 8:00 p.m. ET, which is 6:30 a.m. in Mumbai during the US winter.
Worked example: The November clock change, seen from Johannesburg and Mumbai
South Africa and India do not use daylight saving time, so only the US change moves their opening bell.
- Friday, October 30, 2026, with the US still on daylight time: the open at 13:30 UTC was 3:30 p.m. in Johannesburg, and the close at 20:00 UTC was 10:00 p.m.
- Monday, November 2, 2026, after US clocks went back on November 1: the open at 14:30 UTC is 4:30 p.m. in Johannesburg and 8:00 p.m. in Mumbai, and the close at 21:00 UTC is 11:00 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.
- Friday, November 27, 2026, the early close: 1:00 p.m. ET is 18:00 UTC, or 11:30 p.m. in Mumbai, so the shortened session there runs from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., three and a half hours instead of six and a half.
What are market-wide circuit breakers?
Market-wide circuit breakers halt trading in every US stock when the S&P 500 drops 7%, 13% or 20% below the previous day's close. The halts cover all US stock and equity options markets at once, not just one exchange.
| Level | S&P 500 fall from the prior close | If it happens before 3:25 p.m. | If it happens at or after 3:25 p.m. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 7% | All trading halts for 15 minutes | No halt |
| Level 2 | 13% | All trading halts for 15 minutes | No halt |
| Level 3 | 20% | Trading ends for the day | Trading ends for the day |
Levels 1 and 2 can each trigger only once a day, and trading restarts with reopening auctions on the listing exchanges. Under the percentages adopted in a 2012 rule change, the real test came in March 2020, when Level 1 halts hit four times: March 9 at 9:34:13 a.m., March 12 at 9:35:44 a.m., March 16 at 9:30:01 a.m. and March 18 at 12:56:17 p.m. On March 16 the fall came so fast that most S&P 500 stocks had not yet finished their opening auctions when the halt began, according to an NYSE working group's review.
Worked example: Where the trigger levels would sit
Suppose the S&P 500 closed at 6,000.00 the day before, a round number chosen for the arithmetic:
- Level 1: 6,000 × (1 − 0.07) = 5,580.00, a fall of 420 points
- Level 2: 6,000 × (1 − 0.13) = 5,220.00, a fall of 780 points
- Level 3: 6,000 × (1 − 0.20) = 4,800.00, a fall of 1,200 points
If the index touched 5,580 at 11:00 a.m., all trading would stop until 11:15 a.m. If it first touched 5,580 at 3:30 p.m., trading would carry on unless the fall reached 20%.
Single stocks have their own brakes. Under the limit up-limit down plan, each stock gets a price band around its average price of the previous five minutes during the regular session. The band is 5% for S&P 500 and Russell 1000 stocks and some exchange-traded products priced over $3, 10% for other stocks over $3, 20% for stocks from $0.75 to $3, and the lesser of $0.15 or 75% below $0.75. If a stock sits at its band for 15 seconds, trading in it pauses for five minutes. The bands double from 3:35 p.m. for the 5% group and for stocks priced at $3 or less, and a separate static band of 20% is due to cover the overnight session from December 6, 2026.
Is the stock market moving to 24-hour trading?
Partly: from December 6, 2026, Nasdaq, NYSE Arca and other exchanges plan overnight sessions from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET on Sunday through Thursday nights. Joined to the existing early and late sessions, that gives a 23-hour trading day, five days a week, with a one-hour break from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.
The exchanges' target start date is December 6, 2026, pending readiness of the consolidated data feeds and any remaining SEC rule changes. The SEC approved Nasdaq's 23/5 rule change on April 10, 2026. Nasdaq said on October 23, 2026 that its week will run from 9:00 p.m. on Sunday to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, and that it will keep its Opening and Closing Crosses, with the closing cross still setting the official close.
| Item | Planned overnight rule |
|---|---|
| Hours | 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET, Sunday to Thursday nights, rolling into the 4:00 a.m. early session |
| Trade date | Trades from 9:00 p.m. to midnight carry the next calendar day's date |
| Settlement | One business day after that trade date |
| Orders on Nasdaq | Limit orders only: no market orders and no orders for the open or the close |
| Price limits | A static band of 20% around the reference price |
| Holidays | No session for a market holiday; when one falls Monday to Thursday, trading restarts at 9:00 p.m. that evening |
| After a Level 3 halt | Trading resumes at 4:00 a.m. on the next trading day |
Worked example: Two trades on the same Monday evening
- 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, December 7, 2026, in the late session: the trade date is Monday, December 7, and it settles on Tuesday, December 8.
- 10:15 p.m. ET the same evening, in the overnight session: the trade date is Tuesday, December 8, and it settles on Wednesday, December 9.
The back office has moved first. NSCC, the clearing house for US stock trades, began clearing 24 hours a day, five days a week on June 28, 2026, and the consolidated price feeds and FINRA's trade reporting facilities are due to switch to the 23/5 schedule on December 6.
Overnight trading already exists away from the exchanges, on a few alternative trading systems that brokers connect to. In August 2026 the 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. window accounted for 0.9% of all US stock share volume, about 144.6 million shares a night, according to an SEC staff memo. Activity was concentrated: the 10 most active stocks took 43.4% of overnight volume, against 10.3% during regular hours, and accounts based outside the US supplied roughly 37% of overnight share volume in the second quarter of 2026. Even under the new schedule, weekends stay dark: no exchange trading from 8:00 p.m. on Friday until 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, a contrast with crypto markets that never close, as crypto vs stocks describes.
Why do some trading days have no settlement?
Stocks trade on Columbus Day and Veterans Day, but banks and the Depository Trust Company close, so no trades settle on those days. The standard settlement cycle for US stocks and ETFs: One business day after the trade (T+1), since May 28, 2024. The business days in that count follow the banking calendar, not the exchange calendar.
Worked example: Veterans Day 2026
- Tuesday, November 10: a trade would normally settle on Wednesday, November 11. With DTC closed, it settles on Thursday, November 12.
- Wednesday, November 11: stocks trade as usual, and these trades also settle on Thursday, November 12, which becomes a double settlement day.
- Thursday, November 12: trades settle on Friday, November 13, back on the normal cycle.
Columbus Day works the same way. The Federal Reserve's holiday schedule lists Columbus Day on Monday, October 11, 2027 and Veterans Day on Thursday, November 11, 2027, so expect the same one-day delay then, and check the DTC notice nearer the date. The practical effect is on cash: sell shares on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 and the proceeds settle on Thursday, not Wednesday.
The bond market keeps a third calendar. SIFMA, the bond dealers' association, recommends full closes on Columbus Day and Veterans Day, and 2:00 p.m. early closes before several holidays, including Friday, November 27, Thursday, December 24 and Thursday, December 31, 2026. Treasury bills follow that bond and banking calendar rather than the stock calendar; how to buy Treasury bills covers what that means for auctions and maturities.
What are the risks of trading near the open, the close or a holiday?
The main timing risks are fast moves around the open, thin trading on half days and after hours, and price gaps when news lands while markets are shut. None of them depends on what you buy; they depend on when you trade.
- Around the open. The opening auction can price a stock well away from the previous close when news arrived overnight, and a market order queued before 9:30 a.m. fills at whatever that auction produces. A limit order caps the price, and stock order types sets out the choices.
- Half days and holiday weeks. A 1:00 p.m. close leaves three and a half hours of trading, and volume is often lighter than usual, which can widen spreads.
- Outside regular hours. FINRA Rule 2265 requires brokers to warn customers about lower liquidity, higher volatility, changing prices, unlinked markets, news announcements and wider spreads before they trade in extended sessions.
- Halts. During a market-wide halt or a single-stock pause nothing executes, and resting orders may fill in the reopening auction at a very different price.
- Time zones. In the weeks when the US has changed its clocks and your country has not, a recurring reminder set in local time will be an hour off.
Worked example: A holiday gap and a stop order
A stock closes at $80.00 on Wednesday, November 25, 2026. Bad news on Thanksgiving Day pushes it to open at $72.00 on Friday. A sell stop order at $78.00 does nothing on Thursday because the market is shut; on Friday it triggers at the open, becomes a market order and fills near $72.00.
- Expected loss at the stop on 100 shares: ($80.00 − $78.00) × 100 = $200, or 2.5%
- Actual loss: ($80.00 − $72.00) × 100 = $800, or 10%
Before trading near a holiday or outside the regular session
- Check the holiday table above for full closures and 1:00 p.m. closes.
- Convert 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET into your local time with the right season's offset.
- Count settlement days on the banking calendar if you need the cash by a set date.
- Prefer limit orders outside the regular session, where market orders are often not accepted.
- Confirm that your broker supports the session you plan to trade in.
Live prices for the S&P 500 ETF SPY, the Nasdaq-100 ETF QQQ and the other stocks we track show when they were last updated, which tells you whether you are looking at a regular-session price. To read the rest of a quote screen, see how to read a stock quote; for the first purchase itself, see how to buy stocks, and for the wider set of basics, the stocks hub.