Stock Market Closing Times: What Time Does Trading End Today?

Question

Traders and investors frequently search for definitive answers about when U.S. stock markets close. This comprehensive guide explains the precise closing times for major exchanges, how to verify today’s market status, holiday schedules, early-close days, and what happens when you place orders near or after market close.

When Do U.S. Stock Markets Close Today?

The primary U.S. equity exchanges—NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) and Nasdaq—close at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on regular trading days. Understanding this core close time is essential for traders planning entry and exit strategies, managing open positions, and coordinating cross-market activity.

The standard U.S. stock market close time applies Monday through Friday, excluding official market holidays. Once 4:00 p.m. ET arrives, the regular trading session ends, and buy and sell orders on the public order book stop executing at displayed prices. This differs significantly from extended-hours trading sessions, where liquidity is thinner and execution risk is higher.

Standard Market Hours and When Markets Close

U.S. listed equities follow a consistent weekly schedule:

Opening: 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Closing: 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Duration: 6.5 hours per day
Operating Days: Monday through Friday

The close time of 4:00 p.m. ET is the official end of the regular trading session. At this moment, the Nasdaq matching engine and NYSE trading floors transition from active order matching to post-market settlement procedures.

Time Zone Conversion Tips

Since U.S. exchanges use Eastern Time to announce all trading hours:

Eastern Standard Time (EST): UTC-5
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): UTC-4 (March to November)

If you are in a different time zone, convert 4:00 p.m. ET to your local time. For example:

4:00 p.m. ET = 3:00 p.m. Central Time (CT)
4:00 p.m. ET = 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time (MT)
4:00 p.m. ET = 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PT)

Pre-Market and After-Hours: Extended Trading Windows

Many brokers offer trading outside the 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. window. However, these sessions have different characteristics:

Pre-Market Sessions

Typically begin at 4:00 a.m. ET or 7:00 a.m. ET, depending on your broker
Lower trading volume and wider bid/ask spreads
Different order types may be restricted
Higher execution risk and slippage

After-Hours (Post-Market) Sessions

Usually operate until 6:00 p.m. ET or 8:00 p.m. ET
Run after the 4:00 p.m. official close time
Significantly reduced liquidity compared to regular hours
Often used for breaking news reactions and institutional rebalancing
Settlement rules remain standard (T+2 for most equities)

Important: Extended-hours orders execute on separate liquidity pools and may not be filled at displayed prices. Verify your broker’s supported hours before relying on pre-market or after-hours access for time-sensitive trades.

Holiday Schedule: When Markets Close Early or Remain Shut

U.S. exchanges observe a published annual holiday calendar. On these dates, there is no regular trading session—the market close time effectively becomes N/A, and no orders execute on the main order book.

Full-Day Market Closures

The following holidays trigger complete exchange closures:

New Year’s Day (January 1)
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (third Monday in January)
Presidents’ Day (third Monday in February)
Good Friday (variable, late March or April)
Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19)
Independence Day (July 4)
Labor Day (first Monday in September)
Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November)
Christmas Day (December 25)

When holidays fall on weekends:

If a holiday falls on Saturday, the exchange observes it on the preceding Friday
If a holiday falls on Sunday, the exchange observes it on the following Monday

Always consult the current year’s official NYSE and Nasdaq calendars to confirm observed dates, as observance rules can shift.

Early-Close Days: Shortened Trading Sessions

Several times per year, U.S. exchanges operate shortened sessions. On these days, the market close time is 1:00 p.m. ET rather than 4:00 p.m. ET.

Typical early-close days include:

Day before Independence Day (July 3 or nearest business day)
Day after Thanksgiving (Friday after the fourth Thursday in November)
Christmas Eve (December 24, if it falls on a weekday; sometimes subject to board discretion)

Early-close days may also apply to specific markets within the exchange:

Equities may close at 1:00 p.m. ET
Options markets may have adjusted hours
Bond markets may follow separate early-close schedules

Action item: Before an early-close day, verify the exact close time on the exchange calendar and confirm whether your broker will accept orders normally, route them differently, or reject them at certain times.

How to Verify Today’s Stock Market Close Time

To obtain a reliable answer about market status and close time for today, follow this verification process:

Step 1: Consult Official Exchange Calendars

Visit the NYSE official website and review the current year’s market hours and holiday calendar
Visit the Nasdaq official website for its holiday and early-close schedule
Download or bookmark the annual calendar for quick reference

Step 2: Confirm Your Local Time and Eastern Time

Use an accurate clock synchronized to your device or an atomic time service
Calculate your time zone offset from ET (or EDT during daylight saving time)
Verify whether daylight saving time is currently in effect (second Sunday in March through first Sunday in November)

Step 3: Check Your Broker’s Trading Platform

Open your brokerage trading interface and check whether the regular market session is listed as “open” or “closed”
Review any system announcements about maintenance windows, early closes, or extraordinary interruptions
Verify which pre-market and after-hours windows your broker offers

Step 4: Monitor Exchange and Regulatory Announcements

Follow the SEC’s official website for emergency notices or unusual market disruptions
Monitor FINRA announcements for operational issues affecting market access
Check major financial news outlets for breaking announcements about extraordinary closures

Step 5: Confirm Extended-Hours Availability

If the regular session is closed but you need trading access, ask your broker whether extended-hours trading is available
Understand that extended-hours liquidity and order types differ from the regular session

Order Handling When Markets Close or Are Closed

When the market close time approaches or has passed, different order types behave differently:

Orders Placed Before Market Close

Limit orders and market orders submitted for the regular session execute before 4:00 p.m. ET
Orders with a “good for day” (GFD) time-in-force expire at the regular market close (4:00 p.m. ET)

Orders Placed During Extended Hours or After the Close

After-hours orders may execute if your broker offers extended trading; check liquidity and spread risk
Queued orders (sometimes called “Good-Till-Cancel” or GTC orders) may automatically reroute to the next market open, depending on broker rules
Verify your broker’s specific queue and rerouting policy

Settlement After Market Close

Trades executed before 4:00 p.m. ET settle on a T+2 basis (two business days after trade date)
Trades executed in extended hours follow the same T+2 settlement rule unless your broker specifies otherwise
Settlement does not depend on market hours; it follows the calendar and Federal Reserve schedule

Bond, Options, and Other Asset Classes: Different Close Times

Not all markets close at 4:00 p.m. ET. Understanding asset-class-specific hours is critical:

U.S. Treasury and Fixed-Income Markets

Many bond markets operate on dealer networks rather than centralized exchanges
Liquidity concentrates in over-the-counter venues
Hours vary by bond type and dealer; many bond dealers close earlier than 4:00 p.m. ET
Government bond trading may have different early-close schedules

Options Markets

Options on U.S. equities may close at 4:00 p.m. ET or 4:15 p.m. ET, depending on the exchange
Settlement and exercise rules differ from cash equities
Holiday observance and early-close schedules may differ from equity markets

Futures and Derivatives

Futures markets often operate longer hours or in after-hours sessions
Some futures contracts trade nearly 24 hours with brief maintenance windows
Close times and settlement differ from cash equities; consult exchange-specific calendars

International Equities

European, Asian, and other international markets have their own close times and holiday calendars
ETFs that track international indexes may not trade in sync with underlying market close times

If your question is asset-class specific (e.g., “When do bond markets close today?”), consult the hours published by the relevant market operator, not equity-market hours.

Impact on Trading and Liquidity Near Market Close

Behavior during the final hours before market close differs from mid-day trading:

Liquidity Compression

Bid/ask spreads often widen in the last hour before 4:00 p.m. ET
Market depth (available volume at each price level) thins
Volatility can spike as traders exit positions or rebalance

News and Price Discovery

Major corporate earnings announcements often coincide with times shortly before or after market close
Breaking news during extended hours can trigger large gap moves at the next regular open (9:30 a.m. ET)
Continuous price discovery in 24/7 markets (like cryptocurrency venues) differs from discrete trading windows

Risk Management Best Practices

Reduce position size when trading close to market close
Widen stop-loss orders to account for higher spreads
Avoid initiating highly time-sensitive trades within 30 minutes of 4:00 p.m. ET if you are unable to monitor closely
Consider deferring certain order types (market orders, aggressive limit orders) to the next regular open

Global Markets and Time-Zone Considerations

The question “What time does the stock market close today?” varies globally:

London Stock Exchange closes at 4:30 p.m. GMT
Tokyo Stock Exchange closes at 3:00 p.m. JST
Australian Securities Exchange closes at 4:00 p.m. AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
Hong Kong Stock Exchange closes at 4:00 p.m. HKT

Each market observes its own holidays and has its own early-close days. When trading international securities or indices:

Identify the primary listing exchange
Convert its local close time to your time zone
Consult that exchange’s holiday calendar
Check whether the security trades on multiple exchanges with different hours

Many countries also observe different weekend rules (e.g., Friday/Saturday in certain jurisdictions), which affects when markets are closed.

Emergency Closures and Extraordinary Disruptions

Exchanges occasionally announce extraordinary closures or altered schedules due to:

Severe weather (rare but documented in exchange history)
National days of mourning
Systemic technical outages or cybersecurity incidents
Regulatory emergency measures

These events are uncommon and formally announced by the exchange and the SEC. If an extraordinary event occurs:

Monitor the exchange’s official press releases and website
Check your broker’s alert system and status pages
Avoid informal social media channels for official timing; confirm via authoritative sources

Cryptocurrency Markets vs. Traditional Stock Markets

Cryptocurrency and on-chain trading platforms operate under fundamentally different models:

Crypto exchanges are typically open 24/7 and do not observe traditional exchange holidays
Settlement and custody differ from traditional markets (on-chain settlement can be near-instantaneous or subject to blockchain confirmation times)
Regulatory status varies by jurisdiction; crypto markets are less centrally regulated than NYSE/Nasdaq
Liquidity patterns are continuous rather than bound to discrete trading windows

For traders seeking continuous price exposure to equity-like assets outside traditional market hours, emerging tokenized security pilots and on-chain platforms are exploring 24/7 settlement and trading, though as of early 2026 these remain developmental and operate alongside conventional markets.

Practical Quick-Reference Checklist

To answer “What time does the stock market close today?”:

✓ Confirm the current date and your local time
✓ Check whether today is a holiday (consult NYSE/Nasdaq calendar)
✓ Determine whether today is an early-close day (normally 1:00 p.m. ET if so)
✓ If neither, the market close time is 4:00 p.m. ET
✓ Convert 4:00 p.m. ET to your time zone if needed
✓ Open your trading platform to verify no extraordinary announcements or maintenance windows apply
✓ Enable browser notifications for exchange and broker status pages for real-time alerts

Bookmark these resources:

NYSE market hours and calendar
Nasdaq market hours and calendar
Your broker’s status and announcements page

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does the stock market close on weekends? A: Yes. The U.S. stock market does not operate on Saturdays or Sundays. The regular trading session (9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET) is closed, and the public order books for NYSE and Nasdaq are unavailable. Some brokers may offer limited extended-hours activity, but the official exchanges are closed.

Q: What happens if I place an order after 4:00 p.m. ET but before extended-hours trading starts? A: It depends on your broker and the order type. Many brokers queue limit orders for the next regular session opening (9:30 a.m. ET the next business day). Market orders may be rejected or held in queue. Check your broker’s specific order queue and time-in-force rules.

Q: What is the closing time on a holiday? A: On days when the exchange observes a holiday, there is no official market close because the exchange does not open. No regular trading session occurs, and no orders execute on the main order book.

Q: When is the earliest I can place an order that will execute today? A: The earliest pre-market session begins around 4:00 a.m. ET, depending on your broker. However, most liquidity appears after 7:00 a.m. ET. Verify your broker’s specific pre-market hours.

Q: Can I trade on Black Friday? A: Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) is not a full-day holiday; the stock market operates on a shortened schedule, closing at 1:00 p.m. ET instead of the normal 4:00 p.m. ET. Plan accordingly if trading on that day.

Q: What time does the stock market close on the day before Independence Day? A: The day before Independence Day (typically July 3 if July 4 falls on a weekday) is an early-close day. Markets close at 1:00 p.m. ET rather than 4:00 p.m. ET. Confirm the exact date on the exchange calendar.

Q: Do all asset classes close at the same time? A: No. Equities close at 4:00 p.m. ET, but bond markets, options markets, and futures contracts may have different close times. Always consult the specific market’s hours.

Q: What is a “good-for-day” (GFD) order? A: A GFD order is a limit or market order that automatically expires at the end of the regular trading session (4:00 p.m. ET) if it has not been fully filled. If you want an order to persist beyond one day, select a “good-till-cancel” (GTC) option, which continues across multiple trading sessions.

Q: How do I know if an early close is scheduled today? A: Consult the exchange calendar and search for “early-close” dates. Common early-close days are July 3, the day after Thanksgiving, and occasionally Christmas Eve. Your broker’s trading platform will also typically display early-close notifications.

Summary

Understanding when the stock market closes today—and the rules governing different market conditions—is fundamental to effective trading and risk management. The standard close time is 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on regular business days (Monday–Friday). Holiday observances, early-close days, and extended-hours sessions create variations that require verification.

Use the official NYSE and Nasdaq calendars, your broker’s platform alerts, and this guide’s checklist to confirm today’s close time and trading availability. By staying informed about market hours, holidays, and your broker’s specific rules, you can execute trades confidently and avoid unexpected disruptions or order mishandling.

For the most current and authoritative answer to “What time does the stock market close today?”, consult the exchange calendars and your broker’s status page directly.