Market open times for the world’s major stock exchanges

• Each stock exchange around the world operates every week from Monday to Friday.
• Stock exchanges are always closed on weekends.
• Some exchanges, such as those situated in the Middle East, will operate from Sunday to Thursday, seeing as their weekend is Friday and Saturday.
• The stock exchange is also closed when the country where it is located has a public holiday.
• Each stock exchange has its own operating hours to accommodate the highest trading activity within its country or region while ensuring international traders and investors can participate.
• Stock exchanges have set operating hours in place to try and control liquidity levels throughout a trading day.

There are various stock markets around the world, each offering the opportunity for traders and investors to buy and sell shares from publicly listed companies situated in the same country or location as the exchange itself.

All these exchanges will operate weekly from Monday to Friday, except for Middle Eastern stock exchanges, which operate from Sunday to Thursday.

The actual business hours for each exchange will differ depending on the country or location in which they’re situated.

Now, stock exchanges have different trading hours, and they choose their specific hours the way they do to accommodate the majority of local buyers and sellers within their country or region while also ensuring availability for international market participants.

Later in this article, we’ll provide a full breakdown of the opening hours for each of the world’s major stock exchanges.

By having set trading hours, stock exchanges can ensure a concentrated level of liquidity throughout the trading day from the time the exchange opens to the time it closes.

Stock market opening hours differ from those of other financial markets, such as the Forex market, whose trading hours run consecutively for 24 hours a day, five days a week, and only close on the weekend.

Traders and investors still have the ability to open a position on a weekend. However, the position won’t be executed immediately. Instead, it will be added to a queue and only executed once the market opens again on Monday. If a trader were to do this, they might want to keep in mind that if any major news or economic events came out over the weekend when they’ve placed their trade, they could experience slippage once the market opens again.

Slippage happens due to price changes that took place overnight or over a weekend and causes the executing price of a position to differ from the expected price.

The majority of the stock exchanges we’ll examine in the following sections have a market capitalisation of approximately $115 trillion, which accounts for more than 87% of the global market capitalisation.

As previously mentioned, all major stock exchanges worldwide have different trading hours depending on their current geographical location.

Let’s take a closer look at these trading hours in more detail.

Trading hours in North America

The three biggest stock exchanges in North America are the NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

These exchanges are situated in New York City and Toronto and follow the same time zone: Eastern Time. Below is a table displaying these three exchanges’ exact opening and closing hours.

Trading hours in South America

The biggest stock exchange in South America is located in São Paulo, Brazil: B3 Brazil, Bolsa, Balcão. This exchange was formed by merging two smaller exchanges, BM&F and Bovespa, and accounts for a significant portion of the total trading value within South America.

São Paulo is only one hour ahead of New York, which means the Brazil Stock Exchange’s opening hours are roughly in line with those of the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

However, the trading hours of the Brazilian Stock Exchange are longer than those of the NYSE and NASDAQ.

Trading hours in Europe

The European stock market has the longest trading hours of any other exchange due to the vast number of different exchanges situated in this region. 

The biggest exchange in Europe is Euronext, which is a collective stock exchange covering several European stock markets, such as Amsterdam, Paris, Lisbon, Brussels, and Dublin.

The Euronext head offices are based in Amsterdam, and their opening and closing times follow the Netherlands’ time zone.

The London Stock Exchange also falls under this region, even though England isn’t part of the European Union. However, it is considered one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious exchanges.

Trading hours in Asia Pacific

There are about 11 different time zones within the Asian Pacific region. However, they all roughly follow each other’s trading hours to create a flowing overlap for trading activity while also trying to keep liquidity steady.

The Asian Pacific opening hours are much earlier than the rest of the countries, and many exchanges within this region will stop trading for lunch breaks. Traders looking to trade the Asian Pacific markets might want to keep an eye on these lunch breaks to know when trading activity will stop and start again.

Some exchanges within this region don’t have lunch breaks, such as the National Stock Exchange of India and the South Korean Stock Exchange.

Trading hours in Australia

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is the primary stock exchange for Australia and is almost the same size as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa when comparing tradeable assets.

In 2006, the Australian Securities Exchange merged with the Sydney Futures Exchange. Now, traders can trade futures, bonds, and derivatives all from one exchange.

Trading hours in South Africa

One of the largest stock exchanges in Africa is the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), which is located in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Some time ago, the exchange acquired the South African Futures Exchange and Bond Exchange of South Africa, allowing traders to trade all the assets from those two exchanges now on one exchange.

This stock exchange also has an agreement with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to allow for cross-dealing between the two exchanges.

When planning stock market activity, it might be important to consider that trading hours depend on the exchange where a stock is listed. Most global equity markets operate from Monday to Friday during defined local trading sessions. These hours determine when orders can be placed and executed, which directly affects liquidity and pricing.

Trading schedules can change around market holidays. On certain days, exchanges may close early or suspend trading entirely. For example, no trading takes place on NYSE or NASDAQ during Christmas Day or Thanksgiving. These closures can limit access to specific markets and reduce overall trading opportunities.

Holiday calendars also vary by region. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange closes in May to observe Buddha’s Birthday, while many European exchanges shut for May Day. In addition, most global stock markets pause trading around the New Year period, which can affect market participation.

Some exchanges also offer limited pre-market and post-market sessions. These shorter periods typically allow traders to manage existing positions rather than engage in full trading activity. Liquidity is often lower during these sessions, which can influence price movements and execution conditions.

Many countries, such as America, Australia, the UK, and Europe, experience daylight saving time, during which sunrise and sunset are either an hour earlier or an hour later. This could affect trading hours, as the market will open an hour earlier or an hour later.

Suppose you’re looking to trade any financial instruments listed on exchanges situated in those countries. In that case, it might be essential for you to familiarise yourself with when daylight saving starts and ends.

Knowing when the stock market opens could be an essential aspect of market analysis. As the markets prepare to open, a trader could examine any vital information on the charts and any critical news or economic events that could’ve been released while the markets were closed.

Trading volume is generally higher at the morning open due to the vast number of traders entering the market. In comparison, trading volume during the middle of the day is usually calmer. Trading volume will generally start picking up again before the market closes.

It might be essential to remember that an increase in trading volume often results in an increase in volatility, which often brings larger price fluctuations. Having a proper risk management plan could protect a trader’s position from these sudden price fluctuations.