Stock Market Analysis Today – What Time Does the Stock Market Open and Close? Wall Street Trading Hours
Summary
- In the US, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST.
- Extended-hours trading is available to both retail and institutional investors via electronic communications networks.
- Trading outside of normal hours comes with risks, including price uncertainty, less liquidity and higher volatility.
Stock market trading hours vary across the globe. The U.S. stock market, consisting of Wall Street’s New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq, the world’s largest as well as second-largest stock exchanges, respectively, are open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, Monday via Friday.
There are additionally pre-market and also after hours trading sessions referred to as extensive markets.
Trades occurring outside normal hours are made over digital communications networks (ECNs), which permit purchasers and also sellers to attach straight instead by means of a middle person.
This kind of trading was formerly just easily accessible by big institutional customers however brokers, consisting of Integrity as well as Charles Schwab, have the ability to run this sort of trading today.
Nasdaq suggests: “For Nasdaq, pre-market trading hrs are 4:00 am to 9:30 am, Eastern Time Zone. After hrs ranges from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Eastern Time Zone. Particular brokers have various pre-market and also after hours trading times (for instance, TD Ameritrade limits pre-market trading in between 8:00 am and 9:15 am).
” Some online brokers do permit you to trade throughout those hours; check with your broker to see if you’re eligible to make those type of professions. Know that Extended Markets carry dangers. The volatility often tends to be much higher, and also there is much less liquidity, suggesting that fewer people are trading and that prices often tend to move far more considerably,”
Nasdaq
Stock markets are closed during the weekend breaks in addition to a lot of government holidays. NYSE as well as Nasdaq are both closed during the adhering to holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Presidents’ Day
- Good Friday
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
2021 stock market holidays
On stock market holidays, the NYSE and Nasdaq close for the entire day. Here are the observed holidays for 2021:
- Friday, January 1: New Year’s Day
- Monday, January 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Monday, February 15: President’s Day
- Friday, April 2: Good Friday
- Monday, May 31: Memorial Day
- Monday, July 5: Independence Day
- Monday, September 6: Labor Day
- Thursday, November 25: Thanksgiving
- Friday, December 24: Christmas
You may think trading stops outside of normal stock market hours, but there’s more to the story. Most stock futures, which are contracts traders use to speculate an underlying asset’s price and trade in the direction of that index, start trading at 6 p.m. EST on Sundays. This is why it’s not unusual to see a stock-market-related headline over the weekend.
” Market half-day holidays may consist of July 3 or 5, the day after Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Eve, relying on exactly how the calendar falls in a given year. In that instance, Nasdaq will certainly shut at 1:00 pm Eastern Standard Time”.
Nasdaq web site
NYSE additionally keeps in mind: “Each market will certainly close early at 1:00 p.m. (1:15 p.m. for qualified alternatives) on Friday, November 26, 2021, Friday, November 25, 2022, and also Friday, November 24, 2023 (the day after Thanksgiving).
” Each market will certainly close early at 1:00 p.m. (1:15 p.m. for qualified choices) on Monday, July 3, 2023,”
NYSE
Trading hours for other major stock exchanges
For individuals who wish to invest in international exchanges, that’s an option, but time disparities can present a challenge. Many international exchanges have the same hours in local time as those of the US. And although traders can place orders before opening, the trades have to be executed during the hours in which that market operates.
Here are the regular trading hours for some of the biggest stock exchanges in the world:
- Canada: The Toronto Stock Exchange has a market capitalization of $2.1 trillion and operates from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST.
- China: The Shanghai Stock Exchange has a market capitalization of $4.9 trillion and operates locally from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., or 9:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. EST.
- Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has a market capitalization of $4.4 trillion and operates locally from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., or 9:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. EST.
- India: The Bombay Stock Exchange has a market capitalization of $1.7 trillion and operates locally from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or 11:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. EST.
- Japan: The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the largest Japanese exchange and the second largest globally, with a market capitalization of $5.7 trillion. It operates locally from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. EST.
- Netherlands: Euronext is based in the Netherlands and is the largest stock exchange in Europe, with a market capitalization of 3.9 trillion. It operates locally from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., or 2 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. EST.
- United Kingdom: The London Stock Exchange considers itself the most international global exchange, featuring more than 3,000 listings and a market capitalization of $3.2 trillion. It operates locally from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or 3 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST.
Investing through foreign exchanges can be done by setting up an international account through most major stock brokerages, but individuals should consider the complexities of foreign currency exchange, as well as the tax implications of trading globally before opting to go this route.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
What is extended-hours trading?
Extended trading occurs when the market closes and an investor buys or sells a security outside of regular trading hours.
Extended-hours trading is performed via electronic communications networks, and includes both pre-market and after-hours trading. However, volume on these trades is limited since there are fewer participants.
Investors typically seek to trade outside of normal hours when major news, like an earnings release, inspires them to buy or sell, but comes after the exchange has closed or before it opens.
After-hours trading can be a strong indicator of which direction the market will open, and it should be noted that most extended-hour trades happen close to normal trading hours, since relevant news is usually released either right before markets open or soon after they close.
The three stock trading sessions
- Pre-market: Runs from as early as 4 a.m. to market open at 9:30 a.m. EST.
- Regular market hours: Spans from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- After-hours: Begins at 4 p.m. and can run until 8 p.m. EST, but trading volume tends to slow down considerably by around 6pm.
Risks of extended trading
Though extended trading allows investors to act fast and beat the rest of the market, it comes with some risks to be aware of.
- Less liquidity: Extended-hours trading has lower trading volume than traditional hours, and some stocks can’t be traded at all outside of traditional hours. This makes it harder to execute trades and causes lower liquidity.
- Higher volatility: Due to lower trading volume, trades during extended hours often come with larger spreads, or differences between an equity’s bid and ask price. This can make it harder for investors to carry out transactions at the desired price and can facilitate drastic price movements.
- price uncertainty: In the same vein as above, high volatility makes it harder to predict a stock’s price outside of traditional trading hours, and an equity’s price during extended hours doesn’t always closely align with its price during normal trading hours.
Where there’s risk, there’s room for reward. Trading outside of normal hours comes with the major perk of allowing investors to react to news, like poor earnings, immediately after it’s announced instead of having to wait for an exchange to open, by which time a stock’s price may already have dropped drastically.
The financial takeaway
The main US stock exchanges — the NYSE and the Nasdaq — are open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m on weekdays, but individuals can trade outside of these hours, too. Extended-hours trading allows investors to act fast following news that might affect a stock’s price.
Trading beyond normal hours can be risky, since stocks are less liquid and more volatile, but can also be worth it.
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Stock Market Analysis Today – What Time Does the Stock Market Open and Close? Wall Street Trading Hours
