When is the stock market open?

The hours

A normal day on the New York Stock Exchange looks like this, all in Eastern Time:

• From 6:30 a.m.: orders can be entered and queue up.
• 9:30 a.m.: the opening auction sets the first price, and core trading begins.
• 4:00 p.m.: the closing auction ends the day.

The exchange lists its early closes in advance. Each market closes at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, November 27, 2026, the day after Thanksgiving, and on Thursday, December 24, 2026.

The days without trading

The market was open on 252 days from Nov 6, 2025 to Nov 6, 2026. These are the weekdays without trading, counted from our stored prices for 20 of the largest US companies.

Buying stocks when the market is closed

Most brokers let you place an order in the evening or at the weekend. A regular order does not go through then. It waits and enters trading at the open, when the price may differ from what you saw. Here is how far stocks tend to open from the close. With a limit order you set the highest price you will pay.

Some brokers also offer trading outside regular hours. The SEC calls these after-hours sessions, and says that their length varies between markets and venues, so your broker has to tell you if and when they are available. Fewer people trade then, so the spread is usually wider.

Sources

• New York Stock Exchange, Holidays & Trading Hours, read on 5 November 2026.
• US Securities and Exchange Commission, After-hours Trading, read on 5 November 2026.