What are the trading hours of stock markets around the world?

Stock exchange trading hours explained

Stock market opening times vary in each country, depending on the local working hours and culture. Most stock markets around the world will be open for trading from Monday to Friday, and will be closed on the weekends. Some stock exchanges such as a majority of those in Asia stop for a lunch break, while others – including those in Europe and North America – do not.

This is different for some Middle Eastern exchanges like the Tehran Stock Exchange which operates from Saturday to Wednesday. Stock exchanges are also typically closed on public holidays, which differ for each country around the world.

Why do stock exchanges have different trading hours?

Stock market opening times differ by region in order to facilitate the greatest concentration of buyers and sellers during these hours for local – but also international – market participants. By having set hours for trading, stock exchanges ensure that there is concentrated liquidity between their opening and closing bells, rather than sporadic trades throughout the day on a 24-hour basis.

If a trade is made outside of a stock exchange’s trading hours, it will normally be added to a queue of trades that will be executed once the market has opened for that day. However, if a trader does this, their trade may experience slippage from when it was requested to when it was executed. Slippage occurs because the price may change through the night and be different once the opening bell is rung.

Opening and closing times of the world’s major stock exchanges

Trading hours in North America

North America boasts two of the largest stock exchanges in the world: the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ. They trade from 9.30am to 4pm local time (2.30 to 9pm GMT), Monday to Friday, and do not stop for lunch.*

The NYSE and NASDAQ both offer after-hours trading between 4pm and 8pm local time (9pm to 1am GMT).* This means that trades can still be executed after the exchange itself has shut for the day by using electronic communication networks which match buyers and sellers automatically.

By extending their market opening times in this way, the NYSE and NASDAQ ensure that a higher number of trades can be processed in a single day, often entirely by these electronic systems. However, the risk of trading during extended hours is that there may be less liquidity in the markets because the majority of people will have stopped trading for the day. Equally, orders may be partially filled, meaning that a seller might get a worse price than they had expected for their sale.

American markets are also closed for public holidays, some of which include Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday of November), New Year’s Day (1 January), Independence Day (4 July) and President’s Day (third Monday in February).

The other major stock exchange on the North American continent is that in Toronto, Canada’s largest city. The Toronto stock exchange operates during the same hours as the NYSE and the NASDAQ, and it is also closed on public holidays. In Canada, these include Thanksgiving (second Monday in October for Canada), Remembrance Day (11 November), Boxing Day (26 December) and Canada Day (1 July).

Trading hours in Europe

The Euronext exchange is the largest in Europe and has locations in Paris, Amsterdam and Lisbon, as well as others. Opening and closing times for the Euronext exchanges are identical – 8am to 4.30pm (GMT) Monday to Friday. However, because the hours are fixed across multiple locations they do vary in terms of local hours. For instance, Paris is open from 9am to 5.30pm local time, but Lisbon operates from 8am to 4.30pm local time to ensure that their hours align.* Neither of these exchanges stop for a lunch break.

Another European stock exchange is the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which is one of the largest and most prestigious exchanges in the world. As can be seen from the table above, the London Stock Exchange opens at 8am and closes at 4.30pm (UK time), with no lunch break.* The LSE is closed on public holidays, which include Good Friday (the date changes every year but it is 10 April 2020 and 2 April 2021), May Day (first Monday in May) and the Spring Bank Holiday (last Monday in May).

Trading hours in Asia

Normal trading days on the Asian exchanges vary, but they mostly keep to the Monday to Friday template set out by their Western counterparts. The Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges all open at GMT +8, with Shanghai and Shenzhen being open from 1.30am to 7am (GMT). Meanwhile, the Tokyo Stock Exchange stays open an hour later, trading from 1.30am to 8am (GMT).*

Unlike stock exchanges in the West, many Asian markets stop for lunch – and these breaks vary in length. For instance, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has a lunch break every trading day from 12.30pm until 1pm (local time). The Shanghai Exchange in contrast has quite a long lunch break, lasting for an hour and a half from 11.30am until 1pm (local time) every trading day.*

Usually, Asian stock exchanges will declare the holidays that they will not be open in advance. However, for China, public holidays on which stock markets are always closed are Chinese New Year (the date changes every year, but it is on 25 January 2020 and 12 February 2021), the Qingming Festival (4 April in 2020 and 2021) and the Dragon Boat Festival (7 June 2019, 25 June 2020 and 14 June 2021). The Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange are also closed on these days.

For Japan, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed on Coming of Age Day (second Monday of January), National Foundation Day (11 February) and Shōwa Day (29 April).

Trading hours in the Middle East

Trading hours in the Middle East vary depending on the exchange. For instance, the Saudi Stock Exchange, known as Tadawul, is open from 10am to 3pm (local time) Sunday to Thursday – which is 7am to 12pm GMT.* In Saudi Arabia, the weekend goes from Friday to Saturday, meaning that the Tadawul exchange is one of the few stock exchanges in the world that is open on a Sunday.

Notable public holidays in Saudi Arabia include Saudi National Day (23 September) and Eid-al-Fitr, which commemorates the end of Ramadan. Other prominent Middle Eastern exchanges include that in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. The Tehran Stock Exchange is open from 9am to 12.30pm (local time) Saturday to Wednesday, which is 5.30am to 9am GMT.* This is because the weekend in Iran runs from Thursday to Friday, rather than Saturday to Sunday, which are working days.

Iran has the most public holidays in the world, and some of the most substantial are Nowruz (19, 20 or 21 March – depending on the year), Islamic Republic Day (usually 1 April but can change depending on the year) and the Death of Khomeini (4 June).

Middle Eastern stock exchanges often follow the days of rest prescribed by religious doctrine rather than the model set out by Western stock exchanges. meaning their stock market opening times and working days are usually different to the exchanges in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Neither the Saudi Stock Exchange or the Tehran Stock Exchange stop for a lunch break.

Trading hours in Oceania

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is the largest stock exchange in Oceania. Stock market trading hours for ASX are from 10am to 4pm (local time) Monday to Friday, which is 12am to 6am GMT. Like most exchanges outside of Asia, trading on the ASX does not stop for lunch.*

Australia has several national public holidays during which the stock markets are closed. Notable examples would be Australia Day (26 January), Anzac Day (25 April), Christmas Day (25 December) and Boxing Day (26 December). There are also a number of public holidays in the different territories, but traders should check those for New South Wales, because this is where the ASX is located.

New Zealand is another finance hub in Oceania, and its largest exchange – New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZSX) – is open from 10am until 4.45pm local time. This translates to 10pm to 5am GMT, and the NZSX does not stop for lunch.*

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* Disclaimer: The hours mentioned in this article are set by each individual exchange and may vary. Hours change as countries shift to and from daylight savings time.