Opening Hours of the World’s Major Stock Exchanges

What are the opening hours for stock exchanges?

Stock exchanges across the globe are all open during standard business hours, though the specific trading hours are different for each one. In the professional working world, when people talk about “business hours”, they typically mean the standard 9 to 5, though 8AM to 6PM is more accurate for stock markets. Having stock exchanges’ opening times fall within these set periods has several purposes:

• Global Participation: Traders around the world can engage in trading during regular office hours, facilitating global participation.

• Structure: Having specific market opening and closing times helps create a structured trading day and allows for a smooth transition into and out of trading with a clear start and end.

• Market Liquidity: Concentrating trading hours within a specific timeframe helps to maintain market liquidity and provides greater potential for buying and selling.

• Efficiency: Structured trading hours contribute to the efficiency of market operations. Market participants, including traders, brokers, and market makers, can plan their activities and allocate resources more effectively while having a regular work day. Brokers have lives too!

Due to all these advantages of having set market hours, most major stock exchanges typically operate Monday to Friday (bar the Middle East) during business hours – though the exact times vary by one to two hours from country to country. For example, the Australian Stock Exchange opens at 10AM local time, while London’s opens at 8AM UK time, a two-hour difference.

We’ll explain the specific opening hours and days of the major stock exchanges in the next few sections.

What time does the stock market open in the US?

There are currently 13 stock exchanges in the US, two of which are the world’s largest by market capitalization – the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. Both exchanges open at the same time, 9:30AM Eastern Standard Time (EST), and close at 4PM. They don’t have a break for lunch.

The NYSE and NASDAQ are in New York, so run on New York time, five hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). During Daylight Saving Time (DST), from 10th March to November 3rd, New York time switches to four hours behind UTC. If you’re trading in a country that doesn’t observe DST, be sure to account for this change.

Here are the US stock market opening hours for major financial locations around the world.

Although the US stock market is typically open from Monday to Friday all year round, there are specific national days and special holidays when it remains closed or closes early. For a detailed list, see our in-depth breakdown of US stock market opening hours: Is the US stock market open today?

What are the trading hours in the UK?

The United Kingdom is home to the world’s 9th largest stock exchange by market cap, the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and to a wide range of companies and their liquid pools of capital. London is considered by many to be the financial capital of Europe, so its stock exchange is a popular choice for traders.

The LSE opens at 8AM and closes at 4:30 PM Greenwich Meridian Time, making it the longest stock trading session globally (tied with the Euronext). Technically, there’s no lunch break, though there is a two-minute pause from 12PM to 12:02 PM, a measure introduced to protect institutional investors from high-frequency “flash traders”. UK time is the same as UTC, except for during British Summer Time from March 31st to October 31st, when it’s UTC+1. Approximately 70 countries change their clocks for daylight savings or summertime, so make sure to check this before trading.

Let’s take a look at how UK stock trading times translate to other countries’ time zones.

The LSE operates all year round from Monday to Friday, though there are 10 national holidays and events when the stock market closes early or doesn’t open at all. You can find a more detailed explanation and full list of UK stock market holidays here: What Time Does The Stock Market Open In The UK?

What time does the stock market open in Europe?

Europe is home to several major stock markets, the most significant of which is the Netherlands-based Euronext, the third-largest stock market in the world by market cap. The Euronext connects multiple European economies to global financial markets and has attracted a lot more capital since the UK separated from the European Union, with a market cap of over $7.2 trillion as of October 2023.

Other notable European stock exchanges in Europe are Germany’s Deutsche Boerse AG, Switzerland’s SIX Swiss Exchange, and the Nasdaq Nordic and Baltics Exchange of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. The three exchanges are the 12th, 13th, and 14th largest in the world by market cap, respectively. They all operate during the same hours as Euronext.

Euronext is open for trading from 9AM to 5:30PM Central European Time (CET), with no lunch break. CET is one hour ahead of UTC, except for during European Summertime from the last Sunday of March until the last Sunday in October, when CET is two hours ahead of UTC. European Summertime often doesn’t align with the summertime or daylight saving times of other regions and countries, so be sure to always check the time difference when trading European stocks.

Below you’ll find European stock market opening hours for traders in major locations around the world. Note that Europe is one hour ahead of the UK, but their stock markets open one hour later, so the times are the same around the world. This means stock traders outside of Europe can trade UK stocks and European stocks at exactly the same time.

Trading hours in Asia & Middle East

The balance of economic power has been shifting slowly eastwards over the past few decades, so much so that Asia now houses several major stock exchanges, from China to India to the Middle East. We’ll take a look at the major stock exchanges throughout Asia and the Middle East individually, in order of global ranking by market cap according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges.

• Shanghai Stock Exchange: China’s main stock exchange is the world’s fourth largest. It opens from 9:30AM to 2:57 PM China Standard Time (CST), with a lunch break at 11:30AM to 1PM.

• Japan Exchange Group: This Tokyo-based exchange is the fifth largest and a popular choice for Western traders due to its consistent growth over past years. It’s open from 9AM to 3PM Japan Standard Time (JST), with a break from 11:30AM to 12:30PM.

• Shenzhen Stock Exchange: The world’s sixth largest stock exchange, based in China, opens from 9:30AM to 2:57PM (CST), with a lunch break from 11:30AM to 1PM.

• Hong Kong Exchanges: The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong LTD is the world’s seventh largest, and opens from 9:30AM to 4PM (HKT) and closes for lunch from 12PM to 1PM.

• National Stock Exchange of India: The world’s 8th largest stock exchange is in India, and opens from 9:15AM to 3:30 PM Indian Standard Time with no lunch break. The Bombay Stock Exchange is open at the same time.

• Saudi Exchange: The Saudi Exchange, or ‘Tadāwul’, is the tenth largest globally, and opens from 10AM to 3:20 PM Arabian Standard Time with no lunch break. It’s open from Sunday to Thursday, as Saudi Arabia’s weekend is Friday to Saturday.

• Korea Exchange: This exchange located in Busan is the 15th largest, opens from 9AM to 3:30PM Korea Standard Time, and doesn’t close for lunch.

• Tehran Stock Exchange: The world’s 16th largest stock exchange, based in Iran, opens from 9AM to 12:30PM Iran Standard Time Saturday to Wednesday, making it one of the shortest stock market sessions in the world.

• Taiwan Stock Exchange: This Taipei-based stock exchange is the world’s 18th largest, and opens from 9AM to 1:25 PM Taipei Standard Time, with no lunch break.

Fortunately for those of you who struggle to keep track of the days, none of the countries in Asia listed above observe daylight saving time or change their clocks for summer. Once you calculate the difference between their local time and your local time, you won’t need to adjust throughout the year.

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How to trade stocks globally?

To trade stocks globally, you need to opt for a broker that trades stocks listed on stock exchanges from around the world. Though most will feature stocks from major exchanges in the US, it’s more difficult to find ones that let you trade stocks from smaller exchanges.

Before creating an account with a brokerage, check which stocks they have available. For example, AvaTrade offers stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, while eToro lists stocks from the Indian Stock Exchange. You can usually browse available assets before settling on a broker.

Trading stocks globally comes with several advantages and disadvantages.

Why is it important to know the market opening hours?

Whichever stock market the stocks you trade are listed on, it’s crucial to know the opening hours of the relevant exchange. Trading directly on stocks can only be done during stock market opening hours, though some broker platforms allow stock buying and selling during pre-market and after-hours sessions, which have greatly reduced liquidity and incur additional fees. Important news and events that affect stock prices usually happen during market opening hours, and most trends are observed during this time too. Note that derivatives and indices based on the stock market can still be traded outside stock market hours, though will experience less volatility than during market hours.

For the optimal timing of trades, it's preferable to focus on the time that stock markets open, more than on when they close. Many traders swear by the “10 am rule”, which posits that US stock market movements between the 9:30 AM open and 10AM are a strong indication of how prices will move for the rest of the day, meaning trades should not be made before 10AM. Volatility and liquidity are typically highest during the first two hours after a stock market opens, providing increased trading opportunities.

Wherever you’re trading from in the world, ensure you calculate the time difference between the stock exchange you’re engaging with, and your local time. A trader in the UK buying US stocks would be trading from 2:30PM to 9PM local time for example, whereas a Japanese trader buying stocks on Euronext could only trade from 5PM to 1:30 AM Japan time.

You should bear in mind that certain stock exchanges will close for lunch, something more commonly done on Asian stock exchanges. The stock exchanges of Tokyo, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Hong Kong all have a lunch break where markets close for an hour or 90 minutes. During lunch breaks, markets are closed and no trades can be executed.

Lastly, keep track of national holidays and special events in the country that each stock exchange belongs to, as they may remain closed that day or close earlier than usual. For instance, the US stock market is always closed on Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King Day, while London’s doesn’t open on Boxing Day and Easter Monday.